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Register today for the ARS National Forum on Regional Stewardship!! Register by October 19th to receive the Early Bird rate of $250 (discounts available for ARS members and regional teams). The agenda and online registration are available at: regionalstewardship.org/register4forum.html.
The Forum will be held at the historic Brown Hotel, a treasured landmark in downtown Louisville since 1923, located at 335 West Broadway in Louisville. Please book your hotel BEFORE October 17th to receive the conference rate. Mention the Alliance for Regional Stewardship to receive the group lodging rate of $129/night (not including taxes). To make your reservation, please call or . Visit the Brown?s website at www.brownhotel.com.
Program Highlights
This Forum?s theme is ?Collaborative Governance--Is Your Community Ready?? This Fall meeting will examine successful models of collaboration involving governments in the U.S. , including examples from rural areas. New ideas in building regional identity and in academic research on regionalism also will be explored.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, November 8 and 9, Louisville Metro government will host a pre-Forum ?Lessons from Merger Workshop? for representatives of communities that want to explore the Louisville-Jefferson County merger experience in depth. On Wednesday, November 9, the second ARS ?Boot Camp? will be held.
Forum plenary sessions will introduce the Greater Louisville Region and highlight the merger between Louisville and Jefferson County in 2003. In addition, breakout sessions will focus on new ideas in collaborative governance, creating an identity for and marketing your region, and rural regional stewardship, among others.
The Forum will kick off with a tour of the Greater Louisville region. Join experts from Louisville and Southern Indiana on Wednesday, November 9th to hear aboutand seedowntown housing options, public housing transformation, and Louisville?s award-winning waterfront.
New Ideas in Collaborative Governance
Collaborative Governance finding new ways to govern is being explored in many settings across the country. This session explores some of the recent efforts at local, regional and state levels.
- David Akers, Executive Director, Northeast Ohio Sourcing Office, Cleveland, Ohio. NEOSO has recently completed a pilot project with 14 communities, funded by The Cleveland Foundation, to aggregate purchasing and shared services. More than $2 million in savings has been identified for the First Suburbs in the Cleveland area. David will discuss how the model could be used in other regions.
- Gregg Wolf, Director, National Policy Consensus Center; Oregon Solutions, Portland, Oregon. Oregon Solutions uses state government as a catalyst to promote regional problem-solving. Using a new model, the Community Governance System, they are working with communities to bring diverse partners to the table to reach and implement agreements.
- Ashley Swearingen, Executive Director of Community and Economic Development, California State University, Fresno, California. Ashley also serves as the CEO of the Regional Jobs Initiative, which is developing comprehensive strategies to create up to 30,000 net new jobs in five years. Partners working with San Joaquin Valley communities include the State of California, with a task force of state agencies headed by a Cabinet secretary; and a task force of Federal agencies. Focus areas include economic development, transportation, human services, and air quality.
Creating an Identity and Marketing Your Region
Regions are increasingly working to create identitiesnot only for a better understanding internally of who they are, but also for external branding purposes. This session will explore why regional identity is importantand how to find it.
- Ted Levine, President, Development Counsellors International, New York, New York. Development Counsellors International specializes in economic development and tourism marketing. Since 1960, DCI has worked with 300+ cities, regions, states, and countries to help them attract investors and visitors.
- Shelley Lauten, Project Director, myregion.org, Orlando, Florida. Myregion.org is an organization of citizens and leaders from public, private and institutional sectors in Central Florida, working on improving economic competitiveness and quality of life in the region.
Rural Regional Stewardship
How do the Principles of Regional Stewardship apply in rural settings? Can the lessons learned in metropolitan regions be transferred to rural regions?
- David Adkisson, President & CEO, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Frankfort, Kentucky. In a career that includes service as a co-founder of Kentucky?s statewide leadership program, mayor of Owensboro, Kentucky, and President of the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, David has worked to find productive connections between rural areas and the larger communities in regions.
- Carol Whiteside, President, Great Valley Center, Modesto, California. The Great Central Valley, the 450-mile long region that forms California's interior, is now the fastest growing part of the state and one of its most diverse. Carol will describe initiatives the Center is undertaking to address the challenges of a large and diverse region.
To register for the Forum, please visit the ARS website at regionalstewardship.org/register4forum.html. For additional information, please contact Amy Carrier, Alliance Manager, at or .
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