Facilitated by Director of the Centre for Creativity and Innovation, Nancy Napier, the Gang held its annual meeting at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival site. Readings of King Henry V’s Crispin Day Speech inspired the discussion at the six tables of Gang members. The leaders offered their aha moments from the last year–what they’ve learned or realized–and what their organizations will focus on for the coming year.

One of the key points that came up is the importance of purposeful or deliberate practice–whether on the football field, theater stage or in business. How do you build “practice” into situations that seem one-off? Marketing or R&D? Hiring or developing people? The discussion also focused on how to know you are pursuing the “right things” and doing them well.

The Gang is a unique group of eight high performing, highly creative organizations based in Boise that, at first glance, have little else in common. But their leaders have forged professional bonds and discovered just how similar they are in terms of challenges and aspirations.

Members of the Gang include:

• Bob Lokken, WhiteCloud Analytics
• Charlie Fee and Mark Hofflund, Idaho Shakespeare Festival
• Jamie Cooper, Drake Cooper
• Don Kemper and Jim Balkins, Healthwise
• Chris Petersen, Boise State football
• Gary Raney and Ron Freeman, Ada County Sheriff’s Office
• Trey McIntyre and John Michael Schert, Trey McIntyre Project
• Russ Whitney and Craig Boobar, Microsoft Boise

The International Economic Summit program is managed by the Idaho Council on Economic Education, which has been hosted at Boise State by the College of Education and the College of Business and Economics since 1971. The purpose of the Summit program is to provide high school and university students with a practical, hands-on learning experience in globalization, international relations and economics.

Carolyn Jensen, a Boise State student who participated in the summit program, said, “Before the International Economic Summit, I had no interest in international economics or global relations. That has now changed dramatically.”

With the support and encouragement of Boise State deans Pat Shannon and Diane Boothe, and a host of Idaho business and banking executives, the International Economic Summit program is expanding rapidly beyond Idaho’s borders. More than 20,000 students take part in International Economic Summit events every year at universities including Harvard, the University of Southern California, San Diego State University and others.

The Mississippi summit included the sponsorship of both Mississippi State and the University of Mississippi and was held on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton. Funding was provided in part by the Council for Economic Education through an EEE (Excellence in Economic Education) Grant.

Almost 100 high school student teams will participate in the Idaho Council on Economic Education (ICEE) regional summit at Boise State Thursday, April 21. The program begins at 8:30 a.m. in the Student Union Jordan Ballroom.

The International Economic Summit is a simulation of the global economy. High school and university students learn about globalization, international relations and economics. The Summit comprises student teams representing the nations of today’s complex world. They compete for scarce resources, form strategic country alliances, debate global issues, invest in long term development projects, interact with global economic institutions, and seek to stabilize and advance the global economy.

The International Economic Summit program originated in Idaho more than 10 years ago and now is recognized nationally and internationally as one of the best educational programs for preparing students for the global economy.

For more information, contact ICEE president Leon Maynard at 426-1810 or visit http://www.econsummit.org/.

To read the complete article in the Idaho Statesman go to: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/04/01/1588004/boisean-wins-top-nationalsmall.html

“It is amazing what a partnership of Idaho colleges and universities, the state of Idaho and the U.S. Small Business Administration has been able to accomplish over the past 25 years,” said state director Jim Hogge. “The investments that we have made in Idaho entrepreneurs and our students will pay benefits for many years to come.”

Highlights since the center began collecting data in 1996 include:

• 27,700 clients received tailored, confidential consulting
• 3,000 high-impact trainings
• 8,225 jobs created
• $801 million in sales increases
• $61 million in additional state and federal tax revenue
• $564 million in capital infusion
• A return to the economy of $4 for every $1 invested in the program

About 68 percent of the center’s clients have been existing small businesses and 32 percent have been startups. SBDC clients have grown sales at a rate more than eight times that of the average Idaho business. A survey of clients showed that 97 percent of them would recommend Idaho SBDC services to other small businesses.

The Idaho SBDC honored six clients from around the state that exemplify small business success. The honorees are: Comfort Keepers, Coeur d’Alene, Kat Vercruyssen; Spot on Yogurt, Lewiston, Matt and Kerolen La Rose; Best Bath Systems, Caldwell, Gary Multanen; Cloverleaf Creamery, Buhl, Bill and Donna Stolzfus; Black Swan Inn and Destination Inn, Pocatello/Idaho Falls, Larry and Debbie Fisher; and Ray-Core Inc., Idaho Falls, Bryan Brusman.

About 97 percent of Idaho firms are considered small businesses — those with 500 or fewer employees. State and national statistics show that small businesses create 60 percent to 70 percent of all new jobs.

The Idaho SBDC is a statewide network with six offices located at Idaho’s state colleges and universities. The Idaho SBDC is housed within the College of Business and Economics (COBE) at Boise State, where it is headquartered. The program provides no-cost confidential business consulting and affordable trainings and seminars to Idaho’s for-profit small businesses. Through a partnership with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, the Idaho SBDC also provides environmental regulatory assistance, and has recently added a bilingual consultant to assist the Hispanic business community. The center serves clients in all of Idaho’s 44 counties.

For more information on the report or Idaho SBDC services, call (208) 426-1640 or visit www.idahosbdc.org.

The TechHelp program, headquartered in Boise State University’s College of Business and Economics, has named Steve Hatten as executive director.

Hatten has served as a manufacturing specialist and the new product development manager for TechHelp for the past 10 years, working with hundreds of Idaho manufacturing companies and startups.

“Steve is the perfect choice to lead TechHelp with his extensive experience in working with Idaho manufacturing companies and his passion for helping companies become more competitive,” said Patrick Shannon, dean of the College of Business and Economics.

Hatten holds a master’s degree in manufacturing systems engineering from Stanford and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from University of Idaho. Prior to joining Boise State in 2000, Hatten had a 13-year career with the Boeing Company, last serving as project manager for the company’s aero/noise/propulsion laboratories.

“I feel extremely fortunate to have been asked to lead a committed and talented TechHelp team that is focused on a mission critical to Idaho and the U.S.,” Hatten said.

TechHelp is a partnership of Idaho’s three state universities and an affiliate of the Federal Manufacturing Extension Partnership. It provides technical and business assistance to Idaho manufacturers, making them more competitive through continuous process and product innovation. It also is Idaho’s EDA University Center, targeting economically distressed areas. For more information, visit www.techhelp.org.