The second annual Growth Summit this spring will give the Grand Strand a picture of where it stands amid the shaky economy and where the area is headed.

Experts are putting together a snapshot of the area economy, including aspects such as employment and real-estate development, and crafting predictions of how national, state and regional trends will affect the future.

State and local leaders are being invited to the summit, set for May 2 at Coastal Carolina University.

The half-day event is a follow-up to last year's summit and is sponsored by The Sun News and CCU.

Last year, about 150 area leaders listened to urban planning expert Michael Gallis and crafted ideas for handling growth, including taking a more regional approach and improving communication among local governments.

This year, gathering the economic snapshot will give the Grand Strand a benchmark to gauge future progress, said David DeCenzo, dean of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration at Coastal Carolina University.

"We need a baseline. We need a snapshot of where we are," he said.

DeCenzo has called on former colleague Daraius Irani, associate director of RESI at Towson University, where DeCenzo worked before arriving at CCU last year.

Irani is in the process of gathering the information and determining how issues such as the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will continue to affect the area.

"We are going to try to paint a portrait of where Myrtle Beach is today and where it is likely to go," Irani said.

The annual summit brings leaders together to share learning, collaborate and create a community of greater opportunity for all, said Paula Ellis, president and publisher of The Sun News.

"The summit is a once-a-year opportunity to take stock of where we are, examine what we could be and generate within us the power to move toward a better tomorrow," Ellis said.