In-Person Registrations are now closed. Walk-ins will be accepted based on availability.
It seems that every week our metro sees a new building, complex, school or business being built somewhere in town. It is exciting to see the growth and expansion of FMWF, but are we truly setting ourselves up for future success and can we keep up this pace? This conversation will bring together local economic and development experts to discuss major topics including incentives, future developments we need and can expect, where our community has room to expand, critical challenges that are stifling our continued growth and much more. As FMWF becomes a more prominent national destination and competitor, implementing innovative development solutions is crucial to ensuring our community can handle becoming the metro that we aspire to be and are working toward.
Our Speakers
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McKenzy Braaten
VP of Communications
EPIC Companies |
Mike Allmendinger
President
Kilbourne Group |
Jim Roers
Chief Executive Officer
ROERS |
Katherine Grindberg
Vice President of Public Policy
Moderator |
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About our speakers:
Originally from Mohall, ND,
McKenzy moved back to Fargo in 2017 to pursue her career with EPIC Companies as the Marketing Director, where at that time she was one of three people in the Fargo office. She recently has taken on a new role as VP of Communications at EPIC Companies. She transitioned from overseeing the marketing team to putting her efforts more towards strategic communications, media relations, internal communications, and community relations. Primarily Mac (as she is known as in the office) handles most speaking engagements, media interviews, open houses/groundbreakings, building signage, works with the development and capital team and more. She can be found at many different events throughout our community! McKenzy is also on the State Board of Directors for Special Olympics of ND, volunteers with Big Brother/Big Sister and Junior Achievement while staying active on the EPIC volunteer committee. In her free time - Her and her husband enjoy spending time at Lake Metigoshe and hanging out with her family; parents Steve & Nancy Olson and three brothers: Spencer who farms in Mohall, Statler who farms in Mohall, and Steele who is a senior at MLS Mohall.
Mike Allmendinger is the President of Kilbourne Group, a real estate development firm focused on mixed-use urban infill and historic renovation in downtown Fargo, North Dakota. A native of Wahpeton, N.D., Mike applies his 20 years of Real Estate experience to developing and implementing Kilbourne Group’s value-creation strategy, identifying key properties and developing and operating mixed-use projects in downtown Fargo. He manages stakeholder relations, and business development of redevelopment and infill projects.
In 2003, Mike founded Land Elements, a leading landscape architecture firm in Fargo that focuses on conceptual design to create a unique sense of place. Mike is a registered Landscape Architect and serves on the board of Fargo’s Plains Art Museum.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Design and a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree, both from North Dakota State University.
Jim Roers is the Roers Chief Executive Officer. With over 45 years of success, Roers is a family owned, financially strong North Dakota based company. Jim founded Roers Construction in 1976 as a residential general contractor. After many successful years of experience, Jim discovered an increasing demand for design-build services and therefore formed Roers Development in 1997. The two divisions work closely to carry out projects from concept to completion. Since then, Roers has also added Property Management – both commercial and residential – and Real Estate services to their portfolio. As a full-service company under Jim’s direction, Roers has had the opportunity to work with non-profit, for-profit, individuals, schools, government agencies, large corporations and more to help fulfill their unique mission. Jim is a graduate of NDSU and serves on numerous boards in the Fargo Moorhead community and throughout the state. His strong desire to better our communities and his strong leadership skills are brought to the forefront daily as he serves as a North Dakota State Senator.