Defense Alliance of Minnesota Holds Roundtable with Governor

By the Defense Alliance of Minnesota Staff

St. Paul , MN , 01/25/05 -- The Defense Alliance of Minnesota was honored to have Governor Tim Pawlenty as its guest at the Minnesota Defense Industry Roundtable on January 24th, 2005. The event was held at the Eagan Community Center , and was attended by nearly 300 people representing over 100 businesses and organizations involved in defense and homeland security contracting. Also in attendance were members of the Minnesota Army and Air National Guard, active and reserve member of the U.S. Navy, and firefighters of the Richfield Fire Department.

The mission of the Defense Alliance of Minnesota is to nurture and expand Minnesota’s defense and homeland security industries, to create and retain high quality jobs, and to further promote the state’s important contributions to our men and women of the armed forces. It was founded in 2004 by Paul Wagner, President and CEO of Minnesota Defense’s parent company, Minnesota Wire & Cable Co.

The morning roundtable event began with a “meet and greet” session to allow Defense Alliance members to make connections and view the exhibits. The Governor’s arrival kicked off the formal portion of the event. Following an opening prayer by an Army chaplain candidate and the national anthem, Alliance Facilitator Chip Laingen presented an overview of the combined defense and homeland security industry in the state. The purpose was to stress to the Governor that Minnesota has enormous potential to gain a bigger share of the Defense and Homeland Security Department budgets, particularly among the hundreds of small to medium sized companies that reside here. The event’s “head table” consisted of 14 company CEOs and others from the state’s large defense firms, as well as from smaller defense contractors and organizations like the Chemical Biological Radiological Technology Alliance (CBRTA).

The Governor was asked to be a “champion” for the defense industry in the state, to explore ways to incentivize the industry to level the playing field with other states, and to develop stronger public-private partnerships for attracting federal defense contracts and research and development (R&D) funds. Governor Pawlenty then spoke for about 10 minutes, saying “I will try and do my part… to champion the industry and the jobs… it provides… as relates to the security of our nation.” He also added that “our congressional delegation needs to dial it up a notch.” The Governor’s positive tone was backed up by a strong offer of support by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, whose Commissioner, Matt Kramer, was also in attendance.

“This is a banner day for Minnesota,” said Paul Wagner, founder of the Defense Alliance. “To have the Governor stand up and support the defense industry as strongly as he did is an almost unprecedented occurrence given the political climate here in the past.”

Over 20 industry exhibitors also displayed their products, capabilities and services at the Roundtable. Among them were companies like: Speechgear, whose instant language translators are being marketed to the armed forces; ERBUS, whose trailer-borne Emergency Response Backup Utility System was prominently featured just outside the conference facility; and Soldier Vision, with its wearable, ruggedized computer systems for Soldiers. Other exhibitors ranged from the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA), to the new soldier support non-profit Comfort for Courage, whose volunteers collected pre-paid calling cards for deployed service members from Roundtable attendees.

The Defense Alliance of Minnesota is planning future events, including smaller meetings that will target segments of the defense industry.