CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Last year, the future looked promising in Clarksville-Montgomery County. The county was named Tennessee’s youngest community and the city earned the title of the best place to live in the country, while the entire state also was enjoying a record low 3.3 percent unemployment rate.

Then, in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. Within a month, Tennessee’s unemployment rate skyrocketed to 15.5 percent and by July, more than 1,100 businesses in the state reported they were closing permanently. The emergence of the coronavirus resulted in a once-in-a-lifetime disruptive event. On Feb. 11, Austin Peay State University will address these challenges during its third annual industry summit, “Leading in a Disruptive Environment.”

Because of the pandemic, this year’s summit will take place as a webinar from 8:30 a.m.-noon. Anyone interested in attending the free event needs to register at www.apsu.edu/summit by Feb. 5.

This year’s summit will feature a keynote address by Washington Post columnist and best-selling author Max Boot. He is a foreign-policy analyst who has been described by the International Institute for Strategic Studies as one of the “world’s leading authorities on armed conflict.” Boot is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow in national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, a columnist for the Washington Post, and a Global Affairs Analyst for CNN.

Tennessee State Commissioner for Labor and Workforce Development Jeff McCord will also share information about the 2021 economic recovery efforts. A panel discussion will follow, with panel members including Frank Tate, executive director of the Montgomery County Industrial Development Board; Col. Jeremy Bell, Garrison Commander of Fort Campbell; Paul Turner, chairman of the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce; Millard House, director of the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System; and Rashida Leverett, Montgomery County Commissioner.

For information on the summit, visit www.apsu.edu/summit.