Connect Northwest Q2 Newsletter

I am pleased to announce that Connect Northwest will be celebrating its first official anniversary this July, and to help mark the occasion we are releasing the inaugural edition of our Quarterly Newsletter. Our goal for each newsletter is to recap some of the highlights of the past few months and inform you about other Connect Northwest activities.

For those of you who are not yet familiar with our genesis, Connect Northwest became an independent, non-profit organization in July of 2005. The idea for Connect Northwest was based on UCSD CONNECT, which is considered by many to be one of the top entrepreneur development models in the world.

With the help of our Founding Partner, Spokane County and other financial supporters and community leaders, Connect Northwest is now fulfilling its mission to connect people, technology and capital to drive innovation. I have been very fortunate to have been involved with Connect Northwest since its inception, and have had the privilege of serving as CEO for the past year.

I am confident that the future of the innovation economy in Spokane and the Inland Northwest is bright, and am excited for what lies ahead. Connect Northwest is gaining momentum as we head into the second half of 2006, and are looking forward to partnering with Washington State University and SIRTI to host the two remaining installments of the Emerging Growth and Innovation Series.

I am also thrilled to announce that after a brief hiatus, LaunchPad is back and will be held at the new Spokane Convention Center on October 5th. For the first time, we will be joining forces with the Spokane Chamber to present the Catalyst Awards in conjunction with our LaunchPad event. Limited sponsorship opportunities are still available.

Under the guidance of Dennis Leidall, our Director of Programs, the Springboard Program is thriving with a pipeline of eager entrepreneurs and the continued success of past graduates. We will be sharing the results of this flagship program in future newsletters as these young companies begin to flourish and take root and the graduate companies continue to grow and expand.

I would like to personally thank our Board of Directors, and the critical role they have played in our launch. Special notes of appreciation also go out to our outgoing Board Chairman, Joe Herzog of Northwest Venture Associates, outgoing Board Member Roger Woodworth of Avista Corporation and outgoing Board Member, County Commissioner Mark Richard. We will miss their guidance and leadership.

Finally, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to those of you who have been involved with Connect Northwest over the past year, and encourage everyone else to join our network and “get connected”!

Sincerely,

Bill Kalivas

CEO, Connect Northwest

Full Newsletter: http://www.connectnw.org/newsletter.html