In This Issue 10 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Spring Meeting President's Message: Foundation Focus LES Education Sector Spotlight: Chemicals, Energy & Materials Sector Nine Tips for Entrepreneurs: How Entrepreneurs Can Partner with General Mills Local Chapters Enthusiastic Response To Certified Licensing Professional (CLP) Program |
A Traveler's Guide To The Local Chapters Let's take a road trip through the New South down a corridor of technology that lead us to Florida, site of this year's LES (USA & Canada) Annual Meeting. Here, you'll find a warm economic and outdoor climate!
We'll cross the Blue Ridge Mountains to reach The Triangle, anchored by the cities of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. Natural beauty surrounds this region which has been named #1 Best City for Jobs, #1 High Tech Region, #1 Place to Live and Work, and #1 Place for Education (Forbes, Milliken Institute). Research Triangle Park is the largest research park in the U.S., with an innovation-based economy that supports the growth and expansion of companies at every stage. Every other month, you'll find the LES Research Triangle Park Chapter holding a regularly scheduled lunch meeting at a local restaurant. These events attract between 40 and 50 attendees, most representing the Biotech and IT industries. "RTP is a relatively small metro area, so we are proud of the fact that we have active participation and good attendance at our meetings," states Chapter Chair Jackie Quay. Outgoing Chair Chris Meldrum and Incoming Chair Bob Pozner also support the Chapter. While traveling in the area, visit some of the nation's top research universities: Duke University, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can bet NCAA sports are a popular pastime here. RTP is also home to a broad spectrum of companies, including Cisco Systems, Bayer, DuPont, IBM and GlaxoSmithKline. Next time you crave relaxed Southern hospitality blended with innovation and technology, take off to Research Triangle Park. Contact Chair Jackie Quay, jackie.quay@duke.edu for upcoming meeting dates and times. The beautiful Atlanta skyline rises before us as we enter this capital city and prominent U.S. center for business. In addition to an active citylife, the dogwood trees are also in bloom, lining the roadways and walkways with their delicate white flowers. The Annual Dogwood Festival takes place each April, so we've arrived on time! Many corporate headquarters are here in Atlanta, while recently many have undergone transitions and acquisitions. Yet, the city is still ranked high on the international business scale. Companies, such as AT&T, Coca Cola, Georgia Pacific and Kimberly Clark make Atlanta their home. For the LES Atlanta Chapter, that translates into a strong membership comprised of attorneys, business professionals and licensing professionals mostly from the Life Science, Consumer Products and High Tech industries. The Chapter holds luncheon meetings 4-6 times a year at a private dining room in Maggiano's-Buckhead. A recent event featured Kevin Cranman of TANDBERG Television and Richard Keck of Duane Morris and was billed as "Perspectives from a couple of experienced guys who license stuff." This year's programs are sponsored by Duane Morris LLP. "We try to book corporate practitioners and those who are helping make a difference in current events, current strategies and current opportunities," says Atlanta Co-Chair Barry Brager who works with Co-Chair John Hudson in planning events. Next time you have Georgia on your mind, contact Barry (bbrager@perceptionpartners.com) or John (j_a_hudson@ bellsouth.net) and see what's hot in Atlanta.
From the north, it seems that the drive through Georgia will never end. But when it does, you are rewarded with pure Florida sunshine and the sweet aroma of orange groves. It's here that we find one of our largest LES Chapters by area, yet comparatively small when it comes to active membership. In fact, that is the challenge for the LES Florida Chapter, whose membership spans the entire state—from beach towns to agricultural regions, the Space Coast to the Keys. New leadership in Biotech is emerging in the heart of Central Florida. This 23-county region is known as the Florida High Tech Corridor and is home to more than 200 Biotech and Life Science Companies. It's no wonder that most members of the LES Florida Chapter hail from the Biomedical industry. The LES Florida Chapter manages to hold quarterly meetings in cities all around Florida. Recently, a meeting was held in conjunction with the Edison Inventors Society at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates Museum in Fort Myers. The evening featured some business, show and tell inventions, and a speaker, John E. Kidd, former patent examiner and patent advisor to the U.S. Navy. With the LES Annual Meeting scheduled in Orlando this year, many LES Florida members will be on hand. Take in the sunshine and introduce yourself to Local Chapter Chairs Ray Carpenter (Ray.Carpenter@moffitt.org) and Greg Nelson (gnelson@akerman.com). |
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Executives Society (U.S.A. and Canada), Inc. |
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Research Triangle Park Takes Off
