Drew Wilson
The longest-running annual conference focused on Northwest Florida economic development was put on the backburner when Hurricane Michael tore through the Panhandle, but Gulf Power says it’s coming back in mid-April.
The 22nd Economic Symposium was originally scheduled to commence on Oct.10, the same day the Category 4 storm made landfall near Mexico Beach. Michael killed at least 50 people, including 43 Floridians, and caused billions of dollars in property damage.
“After the tough decision was made to postpone the Gulf Power Economic Symposium in October due to Hurricane Michael, we are excited to have new dates,” the utility company said.
The 22nd Economic Symposium is now scheduled for April 17 through April 19 at the Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort in Miramar Beach. Gulf Power said it will release more details about the rescheduled event at a later date and that it plans to open up registration in January.
Gulf Power said the slate of speakers lined up for the original dates may change, the rescheduled symposium will have the same theme — “Our Time. Our Place. Our Now!” — and the agenda will be similar.
Additionally, the power company said it will not host the 23rd edition of the symposium as planned, adding that the “symposium team is exploring permanently shifting the event to a date outside of the hurricane season.”
In the weeks following, Gulf Power brought together thousands of lineworkers and support personnel from around the country to quickly restore power to its customers. That effort included rebuilding much of the utility infrastructure in Bay County, where Michael caused the most damage.
The company ended up beating its own estimates in getting 95 percent of its customers back online. After the bulk of its restoration work was done, Gulf Power joined several other Florida-based corporations in making a sizable contribution to the hurricane relief effort.
