Va's Deputy Commerce Sec. to speak at annual meeting - WVVA TV Bluefield Beckley WV News, Weather and Sports

LEBANON – May 2, 2011 – Mary Rae Carter, Virginia's first Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade for Rural Economic Development, will be the keynote speaker at the May 4 annual meeting of the Executive Advisory Board of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority. The meeting begins at 10 a.m. at the VCEDA office, 527 E. Main St., Lebanon.

Deputy Secretary Carter is slated to speak at approximately 12:45 p.m.

Jonathan Belcher, VCEDA executive director and general counsel, will provide an update to the advisory group on economic development activities in the seven-county, one city region VCEDA serves.

Other speakers will include: Jeff Anderson, executive advisory board member, and president & CEO , Virginia Economic Development Partnership, who will present "Hot Industry Sectors in the Current Economy;"  Tommy Hudson, vice chairman of the executive advisory board and president, Virginia Coal Association, who will present "Hot Topics in the Coal Industry;" and Preston Sloane, station director of the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, who will provide an update on the new facility under construction in Wise County.

The annual meeting also includes a roundtable discussion with the executive advisory board.