Ogden, UT – Per reports, U.S. Congressman Blake Moore kicked off the event with comments on the importance of the defense industry and ecosystem in Utah. Moore started by stating, “I just want to sincerely say thank you for working in such a collaborative way within this community.”
Thanking Ogden City, Hill Air Force Base and Weber State University, the Congressman indicated he was “…very optimistic to see that…the federal government is recognizing that we need private sector solutions and innovation to…solve some of our biggest challenges going forward. …I am relentlessly focused on making sure that small business and…private sector innovations have a place in our defense aerospace industry. We’ve seen good come from this already, and we need to embrace it and continue to find ways to make that procurement and operations process more efficient.”
Ogden City Chief Administrative Officer, Mark Johnson, discussed Ogden’s key position of support for Hill Air Force Base and its positive economic impact on the entire area. Johnson stated, “What an amazing thing we have in our city. We have…strong (business) clusters that are forming and developing in the aerospace and defense industry.
Ogden has been working on the placemaking (improvements) for 20-plus years … intended to cultivate a quality place where businesses and talent want to be. In close cooperation with our partners, Ogden City is actively working to support the northern Utah defense ecosystem…creating quality places and supporting the development of resources and networks for small business.
We are thrilled by the defense innovation momentum that is building in our community.” Ogden Airport Manager, Bryant Garrett, followed Johnson and laid out the city’s strategic plan for the Ogden Airport, including new opportunities available now for aerospace related companies to develop sites with unique access to the airport’s updated runways and related new infrastructure.