Future Economy Council Meeting #13 (3/18/2010)

1) Custom Manufacturing
a) The issues of commitment and focus
b) Generation and Vetting of ideas
c) How do we get ideas out to the community?
d) Fostering, Mentoring, and Incubating Ideas
e) The Hyper Competition problem amongst local companies in our community - Would the suggested Real Time - Virtual software that was proposed be implemented as a partnership or independent entity?

2) Demonstration of Applications (Such as the proposed Real-Time - Virtual - CAD Rendering Manufacturing)
a) Connections - Do we have existing connections or will we have to cold call?
b) What is the value of internet bandwidth?
c) Houston stated that eventually the bandwidth becomes a utility ((Allows something (creation and implementation?) to happen).
d) At this point in time this software needs to be focused as much as possible on Google applications.
e) This has the possibility to show Google where their apps are lacking -- and maybe a local could help in that proprietary design process?
f) This is a proof of concept / pilot product
g) Steve Ivester mentioned the Solid Works User Group - They should definitely be involved!
h) Manufacturing Solutions Center should definitely be involved.
i) We need to move from Competition to Collaboration (This may demonstrate how to do that).
j) Ivester addressed transitional processes, such as the IBT allowing the cooperation between Hickory and Lenoir to occur.
k) Collaboration will help the community create energy amongst its human resources.

*** Further dialogue on this item - We need to help Dan St. Louis to write a grant proposal to the Gold Leaf Foundation for the Custom Furniture idea. Every idea from the FEC should not be funding driven. We have to get the components to agree to participate before we can present a unified front to go get a grant. There are so many technologies to integrate in that business model that we really need an integrator.

We have to have the players that are willing to commit the hours to get this off the ground. Are we trying to create a business or an industry. Dan (a public interest) facilitating this will create an industry. This will benefit everybody. Private interests creating this will create a business. In the end, there will have to be knowledge experts who can hold the various strings and there always has to be someone holding those strings or in the end it will start to unravel.

A problem we (the FEC) will always wrestle with is that we aren’t a skunk works for private enterprise. We don’t have R&D guys. We have no teeth (Capital). We rely on the kindness of others.

3) The proposed Economic and Science Fair
a) I stated that we need some outlandish marketing to bring attention from the community
b) Jay mentioned a Great Balls of Fire event that took place in Lenoir - We can do hokey well.
c) Danny mentioned the possibility of an emerging issues event
d) I say go for it. We need to get the community to be more passionate about our plight.

*** Further dialogue on this issue has brought about the possibility of a symposium coming to fruition involving leading Technologists and local entrepreneurs in the field of graphic design and computer information systems.


4) Houston mentioned the fact that negative issues always get the headlines in the HDR
a) I (Thom Shell) will be the first to admit that sometimes I contribute to that, but I try to do it in a thorough and factual manner.
b) All of us who have made contributions have had them chopped to bits, at points in time, which can change the contextual meaning.
c) Our group needs to be more proactive on this issue by discovering methods to facilitate Intelligence Operatives (Fact Finders) to get the whole story.
d) If we gather the intelligence, then we can put out a cohesive message.
e) Cohesive is better than optimistic, because it brings the literate and caring public into the equation and will allow them to buy-in to processes.
f) Terry needs to get onto Hal Row. A huge platform is irrelevant. It is one of the few opportunities we have. We need to take advantage of it.