Minnesota Inventors Congress ceases operation
After 58 years, the Minnesota Inventors Congress (MIC) Board of Directors has announced that it will cease operations of its programs.
Due to state funding reductions, the 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations’ programs that in-clude Inspire, the Inno-vation Expo; the Invent-ors Resource Center and the Minnesota Student Inventors Congress will not be available for inventors and entrepreneurs. The decision is effective immediately.
Starting with the first pop up camper, Rolite Trailer, exhibited in 1958 and the original Quad Cane in 1964, to more recent products the MIC has proudly supported inventors like Greg Amundson, inventor of Easy Caulk caulking strips, a product now sold from his company, Cornerflex.
With MIC’s help, Jovan Palmieri’s Backsafe Systems is heading to fire stations across the country to help prevent citizens from being hit by fire trucks, and, families will be playing Sequence® board game inventor Doug Reuters’ new game QB8™ this fall.
These are just a few of the MIC success stories.
“Since its incorporation on March 12, 1958, the MIC has had the inventive process at its core,” said Chris Winning, MIC board president. “The programs managed by the MIC will foster economic growth for years to come – from products that were realized instead of remaining ‘that one great idea’ through the Inventors Resource Center, to inventors that found a market for their products at one of our expos. There will be students that participated in the Minnesota Student Inventors Con-gress who will undoubtedly impact countless industries in the future.
“I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to serve with a wonderful board of directors and a phenomenal program director to develop and further the goals of this organization. It’s with a very heavy heart that we have been forced to make this decision.”
“This organization has served inventors and fostered economic development through job growth in many local communities across Minnesota by bringing new products to market that manufacturers have either added into their product line or new start up manufacturing facilities have started. This has been at the heart of MIC’s operations since the very beginning when founder Bob Starr noted that new ideas and new products create new markets and new markets create jobs. As board members we are proud to have served in this capacity for the future of economic growth in our state,” said Julie Rath, MIC board member.
“It has been an amazing ride. I have had the pleasure of being actively involved in 31 of our 58 events,” said Deb Hess, program director. “The passion I have for working with inventors comes from the great support we have had over the years from our legislators, sponsors, volunteers and speakers that have helped us fulfill our mission, and the relationships I developed with the inventors made it a joy to come to work every day.”
The MIC organization has worked with thousands of inventors over the years to help them learn how to make better business decisions as they develop their ideas.