Thanks for leading your paper with the creative economy (May 18). I floated the idea of a statewide conference for culture and commerce right after the original Blaine House conference was canceled and was very impressed when Gov. Baldacci agreed.

As the executive director of a western Maine cultural council, I interact with different disciplines, from arts to economic development. Culture and commerce often maintain an uneasy relationship though both are integral parts of our daily lives.

With Maine’s fiscal challenges, we need to employ every economic tool available. A conference targeting culture and economic development is an opportunity for disparate forces to integrate their efforts and improve productivity.

Sam Miller, the executive director of the New England Foundation for the Arts, has collected data on the economic contribution of culture since 1976. He said Maine, as a state, “demonstrates a leading edge understanding of what we mean by a creative sector.”

In December, the New York Times Week in Review ran an article titled “The Seeds of Decline” detailing a downward spiral, over the last decade, across rural America. Areas that escaped this fate were those with “sublime scenery” or rich cultural offerings.

Maine is rural, but blessed with magnificent scenery that draws creative people. We also have an independently minded populace that resists the cultural homogenization so prevalent in other areas of the country.

If we choose to use cultural resources as fuel for our economic engine, benefits will go far beyond merely economic.

Toni Seger, executive director

Western Oxford Foothills

Cultural Council, Lovell