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ong>Morgan center could be similar to successful center at Kaysville campus

MORGAN -- Entrepreneurs may soon have a place to launch their businesses in Morgan County, thanks to the influence of the Davis Applied Technology College.

"Morgan has great potential," said DATC Campus President Michael J. Bouwhuis. "Morgan is in our assigned service area, and we haven't done enough up here."

Similar to the Roy W. and Elizabeth Simmons Entrepreneurial Center on the DATC campus in Kaysville, organizers see Morgan's center as an incubator where business owners can share resources and have access to mentors.

"We've seen great synergy created from that facility in Davis," said Francie Meacham, DATC director of foundation and marketing research. "We want to replicate that here."

Mainly, however, Morgan officials such as school board member Joey Skinner hope the center will bring much-needed economic development to Morgan County.

Snowbasin may locate training facilities in Morgan County, something DATC Vice President of Student Services Brent Peterson hopes will also benefit the Morgan community at large. Morgan High School Principal Kenneth G. Adams supports the expansion of the DATC into Morgan, saying he would send upperclassmen to the center "for skills in the business world."

"We could start planting the seeds," Adams said. "The sky's the limit."

The center could also benefit the 700 existing businesses in the county by offering training.

"Some don't have the business skills to be successful," Adams said. "Things like QuickBooks training could help make businesses (in Morgan) more successful.

"It would improve the industrial and economic base in Morgan," Adams said. "It is an opportunity that we should not pass up."

Meacham said Morgan is in a unique situation, unlike neighboring counties, that could garner the county some Economic Development Association funding for the center.

The Davis center has six incubating businesses, "some being courted by Microsoft and Google because of great products," Bouwhuis said.

To get the ball rolling, Skinner asked the Morgan County Council to dedicate a government official to provide information for grants and economic development plans.

"We need a full-time resource from the government," Skinner said. "I can't convey the urgency enough. Our demographics are changing and we qualify for (some grants) this year (that we may not in the future)."

County Council Chairman Bruce Sanders said the county may need to hire an economic development director to see the project and future projects through to completion.

"It is critical," Sanders said. "We need to move quickly."

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