May was a special month for Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County and our entire region as we welcomed back-to-back international semiconductor conferences and visitors from around the world. First was the return of the SEMI ASMC conference. This was the second straight year this conference, which brings engineers and manufacturing professionals from around the world to discuss techniques, processes and issues related to semiconductor manufacturing; has been hosted in Saratoga. We were very happy to see some familiar faces and were thrilled to see that the conference attendance had grown from the previous year! Could we see them for a third straight year in 2013? We certainly hope so!

Next up was the Semiconductor Industry Association’s World Semiconductor Council meeting which brought CEO’s, President’s and top officials from the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturing companies from around the world to discuss government and industry issues and policies that affect the current and future business climate for this $300 billion industry. The WSC only comes to the United States once every 6 years so, needless to say, we were honored and humbled that the SIA chose Saratoga to host the 2012 Council. We wish our colleagues in Lisbon best wishes and our support for a successful 2013 WSC. These conference opportunities are a direct result of Global Foundries, SUNY CSNE, Sematech and others all contributing to make our region a global hotbed for the semiconductor industry. The Bureau partnered with the Saratoga Economic Development Corp., the City of Saratoga Springs and Saratoga County Board of Supervisors, along with many local sponsors, to host a welcome reception for each conference to illustrate that Saratoga is not only known for Health, History & Horses but of course…Hospitality & Hi-Tech as well.

Congratulations to all of our members, volunteers, staff and community & business leaders on, once again, rolling out the red carpet and showing why Saratoga has truly emerged as a global destination for meetings, conferences and events!!