The industrial hemp summit would like to once again thank your 2020 sponsors.
If your busness would like information about being a sponsor in 2021, please email sponsor@industrialhempsummit.info.
The Industrial Hemp Summit is a multi-stakeholder collaboration focused on building the industrial hemp industry in America. Entering our 4th year, a specific focus of the summit will be building the supply chain and market making for industrial hemp food, fiber and flower. The summit will highlight innovation that is currently happening in the industry, as well as explore what resources and infrastructure are needed to move the industry forward.
The 2021 summit will be another two day event that offers attendees a unique experience because it is the only business-to-business event that takes place in a research facility that is actively involved in the hemp industry. In addition to the summit, IALR’s work includes hemp testing services, hemp research, hemp programming and events, and hemp instructions videos. (See https://www.ialr.org/hemp/)
The team putting on the event is unique in that it is a Virginia – North Carolina collaboration that includes the executive director of IALR as well as the board chair and executive director of the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Association. (see https://www.ncindhemp.org/)
The 2020 summit sold out for the third consecutive year with 400 attendees from 25 states and featured Bill Richmond, Chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Domestic Hemp Production Program. The 2021 summit is expected to once again sell out and interested attendees are encouraged to register no later than January 2021. Early bird registration will begin August 22, 2021.
Blake Butler is the founder of HempX and the festival HempXAsheville. He has been involved in the political, business, and activist side of industrial hemp industry in the South since 2014. After drawing over 1500 attendees for the inaugural HempX Asheville in 2015, Blake has proceeded to organize hemp focused educational events in North Carolina and Kentucky. Last year, he planted two acres of hemp in Western NC with farming partners Franny and Jeff Tacy. Blake currently serves on the board of Growing Warriors and is a partner in Adapt Public Relations in Asheville, NC.
Mark spent his early career building an electronics manufacturing business that operated for many years in Danville, VA. As an entrepreneur, he has always enjoyed supporting economic development activities required to help transform the region. Gignac has also been actively involved in the community including serving as a member of the Danville City Council, Dan River Business Development Center, Southside Rising Venture Capital and the Southern Piedmont Technology Council. Mark continues to serve the region in his role as the executive director of the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research (IALR) whose mission is economic transformation of the region. IALR is poised to help build a new industry around industrial hemp and co-founded the Industrial Hemp Summit as a start to that mission.
The Industrial Hemp Summit is the only B2B hemp event that is held in a science institute that is actually doing research on the plant. Building the U.S. Industrial Hemp Industry is like putting together a 5,000-piece puzzle blindfolded and with the pieces constantly shifting. It is imperative that we collaborate in a professional and transparent manner to create a sustainable industry. The Industrial Hemp Summit is designed to bring people together that likely would not otherwise meet to create quantum conversations, connections and business opportunities. In this third annual Industrial Hemp Summit, our focus will be cutting edge Technology, Business and Science that is taking the U.S. Industrial Hemp Industry to the next level.
Day 1 will feature a full agenda from approximately 8:00AM to 5:00 PM. The agenda will be posted fall 2021.
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Click here for pictures from the 2020 reception
Day 2 will feature an agenda from approximately 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The agenda will be posted fall 2021.
A call for speakers will be posted August 2020.
The closest airports to Danville, Virginia are Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina (RDU) and Greensboro, North Carolina (GSO).
Tours of IALR's hemp testing, polymer and biology labs will be available Monday & Tuesday. Details will be made available.
150 Slayton Avenue
Danville, Virginia 24540
info@industrialhempsummit.info
