The Middle Georgia Regional Commission (MGRC), in partnership with the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA), will host the Middle Georgia Digital Economy Summit on October 28, 2014 at the campus of Middle Georgia State College.  This inaugural event will be held in the Professional Sciences Conference Center from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM and will feature two keynote speakers and five panel discussions—all relating to the Digital Economy of Middle Georgia.

The Middle Georgia Digital Economy Summit is the third component of a partnership between the MGRC and GTA to implement the Digital Georgia Program, which also includes the development of twelve statewide Digital Economy Plans and the creation of Macon’s first makerspace, SparkMacon.  The Digital Georgia Program seeks to bring together and connect Georgia’s business, community, and government professionals to highlight examples, best practices, and the ways people can collaborate to benefit from Internet-age economic development, education, health care, and community innovation.

The Summit will provide the public with an all-day forum featuring leaders in business, government and education as they discuss the Digital Economy and its impact on Middle Georgia.  Sessions will showcase panel discussions about the latest in digital technologies involving broadband, educational tech, business integration, crowdfunding, and the maker/makerspace movement.  The Summit will feature two keynote speeches from Brian Shield, VP of IT for the Boston Red Sox, and Travis Allen, President of the iSchool Initiative. 

The luncheon keynote speaker, Brian Shield, is a former Georgia CIO of the Year (2005) and is the 2012 recipient of the Georgia CIO Leadership Association's Lifetime Achievement Award.  Prior to joining the Boston Red Sox organization, he helped develop the Weather Channel into one of the world's largest cross platform media companies.  Come hear Brian Shield discuss how IT strategy and leadership, technology direction and digital media can transform business.

Closing out the Summit will be Travis Allen, a young visionary that is quickly becoming an influential leader in the emerging digital learning movement.  Travis has been featured in numerous national media outlets (CNN, Forbes, and Huffington Post) and is the 2012 winner of the Google Young Minds competition. Come hear how this young college student is pushing to implement technology into the classroom and change how we educate our students.