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JACC to hold 2nd Annual Joplin Regional Innovation and Tech Summit on Friday

The second annual Joplin Regional Innovation and Technology Summit takes place tomorrow. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

The one-day event at James River Church in Joplin is held by the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce. It focuses on individuals and businesses, from large companies to the smallest family business.

Also encouraged to attend are tech and innovation enthusiasts, those who work in the healthcare industry, and educators. Erin Sflika with the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce encourages those who reside or operate a business in neighboring states to consider also attending.

“We hope anyone in the area. We have people coming down from Kansas City and Wichita, people have registered for the conference. I know that we have a handful of students from Pittsburg State University attending, and area high schools, we have a great group coming out from McDonald County.”

The Innovation and Tech Summit is free to attend and includes breakfast and lunch. To register and for more information,visit JoplinTechSummit.com.

Since 2017 Fred Fletcher-Fierro has driven up Highway 171 through thunderstorms, downpours, snow, and ice storms to host KRPS’s Morning Edition. He’s also a daily reporter for the station, covering city government, elections, public safety, arts, entertainment, culture, sports and more. Fred has also spearheaded and overseen a sea change in programming for KRPS from a legacy classical station to one that airs a balance of classical, news, jazz, and cultural programming that better reflects the diverse audience of the Four States. For over two months in the fall of 2022 he worked remotely with NPR staff to relaunch krps.org to an NPR style news and information website.

In the fall of 2023 Fred was promoted to Interim General Manager and was appointed GM in Feburary of 2024.