Anchorage Economic Development Corporation 3-Year Outlook Luncheon

The 3-Year Outlook Luncheon discusses the longer-term trajectory of the local economy based on an analysis of historical and current data, interviews with industry stakeholders, and trends in eight key indicators; including population, employment, personal income, air passenger and freight volumes, building permit, Port of Alaska tonnage, visitor industry activity and oil prices.

This year’s keynote speaker is Roger Brooks.

A native of the Pacific Northwest, Roger Brooks initially worked in the concert industry, managing tours for international recording artists such as the Bee Gees, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and others.

After working in the music industry, he was recruited to help turn around, develop, and market several destination resorts, including Harbour Town on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; Whistler Resort in British Columbia; Sunriver Resort in Central Oregon, and several others. During this period, he recruited nearly $3 billion in new development projects, helping elevate the resorts to world-class status.

When Roger was asked to re-develop and reposition a popular, but struggling, Pacific Ocean destination town in Washington State, he discovered the depth of his passion for helping communities. His goal was to help the town become a top destination of choice for investment, for business growth and expansion, as an outstanding place to live, and as a premier visitor destination. He recruited nearly $400 million in new development, rebranded the community, and created an award-winning marketing program that elevated the city from a rank of 47th in the state in terms of lodging revenues to 11th, in just three years, while seeing a new home start every four days for nearly a decade. During this process he became a master at recruiting and developing the right mix of product through creative finance and planning expertise, facilitating the economic and social success of the community.

Since 1981 Roger’s passion for helping communities has taken him across North America, into Europe, and all the way to the far-off island nation of Mauritius. Roger has assisted more than 2,000 communities with their downtown development, place-branding, tourism, and marketing efforts, and he is now one of the most widely recognized and frequently quoted experts in his field—a field that includes every element that makes a city, town, province, county or state a better place to live, work, and visit.