The Tennessee Valley Corridor and founding Cong. Zach Wamp (R-Tn.) are joining with Cong. Heath Shuler (D-NC) and key institutions and leaders in Western North Carolina, to host a special one-day event on Nov. 24 at the famed Grove Park Inn in Asheville, N.C., that will focus on how both sides of the Smokies can work together to help solve some of the nation's toughest challenges while creating the jobs of the future.

The event is being organized in conjunction with Western North Carolina's AdvantageWest Economic Development Group, and key sessions during the event will focus on advanced transportation, biodiversity, climate change, green technologies and environmental solutions.

Registration for the event is open to the public and all science, technology, research, economic development, education and business leaders are encouraged to attend. For more information on how to register for the Nov. 24th event, visit www.tennvalleycorridor.org.

The unique partnership event already includes an impressive array of presenters and participants in addition to event hosts Cong. Heath Shuler and Zach Wamp. Confirmed speakers include:
· David Geanacopoulos, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Volkswagen Group of America
· Dale Ditmanson, Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
· Dr. David Easterling, Chief of the Scientific Services Division, National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
· Dr. Dana C. Christensen, Associate Laboratory Director, Energy and Engineering Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
· Ned Doyle, Coordinator of the Southern Energy & Environment Expo

A complete list of confirmed speakers can be seen at www.tennvalleycorridor.org/summits/other.html.

"We are very excited to be hosting such a unique partnership event here in Western North Carolina," said Dale Carroll, president and CEO of AdvantageWest Economic Development Group. "The Tennessee Valley Corridor is aligned with so many of the same initiatives and goals we have for our region and the many world-class science, technology, economic development and research partners and institutions here in Western North Carolina, and through this event, we look forward to sharing information and finding ways to work together for the benefit of both regions."

"The Tennessee Valley Corridor has hosted 19 regional and national economic development Summits throughout the Tennessee Valley and in Washington, D.C. over the past 13 years," said Tom Rogers, chairman of the Tennessee Valley Corridor Board of Directors. "We are excited to expand the reach of the Corridor events into Western North Carolina and to learn from one another and explore new ways to help solve the nation's energy and environmental challenges."

The Tennessee Valley Corridor is a multi-state regional economic development organization dedicated to promoting the Tennessee Valley Corridor as one of the nation's premier science and technology centers, and to leveraging the Valley's abundant research and technology assets and institutions for maximum regional economic development and new job creation.

Building on such regional assets as NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal, the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center, the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the National Transportation Research Center, the Center for Rural Development, the National Safe Skies Alliance, several world-class research universities and dozens of corporate leaders in science and technology, the Tennessee Valley Corridor organization has helped showcase the region's superior quality of life and the people, business, natural and scientific resources needed for high-tech research, development, business and investment in the 21st Century.

The AdvantageWest Economic Development Group is Western North Carolina's regional economic development commission. Chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1994, AdvantageWest is a non-profit public-private partnership whose primary focus is marketing the North Carolina mountains to corporations seeking to relocate or open a new facility, expand an existing business within our region, and those who might otherwise improve the quality of life for citizens within our region through activities such as filmmaking, entrepreneurship and tourism.

For complete information on the Tennessee Valley Corridor and the TVC Southeast Partnership Event including information on how to register, please visit www.tennvalleycorridor.org.