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YOUNG Conference & Expo gets under way this week
YOUNGSTOWN
The third annual Youngstown, Ohio Utica and Natural Gas Conference & Expo will get underway Wednesday with “production, processing and prosperity” as its theme.
The event, hosted and organized by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and sponsored by several local, regional and national companies active in the state’s oil and gas industry, attracted more than 1,200 registrants and more than 100 vendors last year — up 33 percent from the conference’s debut in 2011.
The series of events will begin Wednesday with a welcome reception and “casino night” at the Boardman Holiday Inn. The conference and expo takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday at the Covelli Centre. Afterward, there will be a post-conference reception at the Tyler Mahoning Valley History Center from 5 to 7 p.m.
On Friday, the event will conclude with a discussion about logistics and midstream operations, or the transport of oil and gas to marketplaces across the country. That will run from 9 a.m. to noon and feature three senior executives from Access Midstream, NiSource Midstream and Crosstex Energy.
Kimberly Calver, vice president of marketing and business services at the chamber, said this year’s event will feature 95 exhibitors, while the chamber anticipates a final attendee count between 1,000 and 1,200 people.
Veterans and students from the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at Youngstown State University have been invited to attend for free.
During the trade show Thursday, several prominent speakers will take the stage to discuss the current state of the Utica Shale play.
For information about last-minute registration or exhibit space, visit www.young2013expo.com, or contact the chamber at 330-744-2131, ext. 21.