Governor Gary Herbert and others used the 30th Annual Utah Rural Summit as a back drop to continue his 25,000 Jobs in Rural Utah Initiative.
Now in its 30th year, the Rural Summit, sponsored by SUU’s Office of Regional Services hosted Utah’s governor, who in turn challenged Utah’s rural officials to come up with not just a list of problems, but also…
“…and then the next question’s going to be, ‘and what are the things that are inhibiting your ability to grow… what are the factors that are slowing you down or stopping you… stifling your ability to grow your economy in your own back yard?’ And three, ‘what is your plan… to move forward with your respective responsibilities in your local areas, in fact to provide economic opportunity?’”
Herbert says he’s confident all of Utah can continue to prosper.
“I think the best days lay ahead for the state of Utah," he said. "I’m very optimistic about our future. I want to able to say that with a straight face, and give you some straight talk. That’s the same way for all of our counties and for all of our cities.”
The Utah Rural Summit wrapped up Friday with an address from Cedar City native, and former Utah governor Michael Leavitt.