Alliance for Regional Stewardship: Support for regional planners and leaders

ARS Members Invited to Two ACCE National Conferences in 2007

ACCE Annual Convention – August 1-4, Sacramento, CA

Current ARS members whose 2007 dues are paid will receive a discount on registration fees for ACCE’s big annual convention, scheduled August 1-4 in Sacramento, CA. Nationally-known speakers will address topics of interest to regional stewards, and a number of sessions during the convention will focus on regional development topics.

Major Speakers:

Steve Forbes – CEO and editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, speaking on issues facing the country and the economy.

Knight Kiplinger – One of America’s most respected economic journalists and business forecasters, speaking on what lies ahead in global economic growth, interest rates, housing, trade policy, taxation, politics, business trends and investment climate.

Debra Benton – Executive coach and author, will ‘reveal the secrets used by thousands of top executives worldwide to maximize their own performance’ and that of others.

Dr. Howard Fuller – Distinguished Professor of Education and former public school superintendent, now Director of the Institute of the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University in Milwaukee, will share his passion for accessible education.

Doug Keeley – CEO and chief storyteller of ‘The Mark of a Leader’, will deliver a multi-media presentation with stories about the world’s greatest leaders and the principles that drive leadership.

Joel Kotkin - Best-selling author and authority on global, economic, political and social trends, will speak on ‘Back to Basics: The New Fundamentals of Regional Growth.” He will explain where people and jobs are moving in the U.S., and predict what the country will look like in 2050.

Program Sessions:
A variety of sessions during the ACCE annual convention will address topics of interest to ARS members:

‘New Media: Trend or Tool?’

‘Building the Economy with Clusters’

‘Beating Brain Drain with the ‘Un-Retired’

‘Housing Planning as a Workforce Recruitment and Retention Tool’

‘Contagious Policy Issues: Development (land use, renewable energy, infrastructure funding)

Report of the New Commission on Skills of the American Workforce

All-day workshop on August 4 titled: ‘It is Economic Development – or Developing the Economy?’

For the convention brochure, visit

Ford Foundation Regionalism and Sustainable Development Fellows Meeting – October 24-26, 2007, Charleston, SC

Through a grant from the Ford Foundation, ACCE and the Boston-based consulting firm FutureWorks partnered to create a ‘Regionalism and Sustainable Development Fellowship.’ Participants in the 18-month program include senior management of chambers and regional business associations, economic development professionals, government relations specialists, workforce/education directors, and foundation heads.

ACCE will host a gathering of Fellows from around the country October 24-26, in Charleston, SC. Current ARS members who have paid their 2007 dues will be offered free registration to this meeting (does not include food, travel, or lodging).

In the Fellowship program, and at the November meeting, topics covered include a wide range of regional sustainability issues: infrastructure, immigration, land use, housing, education, minority inclusion, and inner-city challenges. Fellows receive hands-on training, peer knowledge exchange, research, and examination of working models. At the end of the program, the Fellows will deliver, as a group, a policy and practice paper to the ACCE membership on regionalism and sustainability issues.

After their ‘graduation’, the 30 Fellows in the program will be able to draw on ARS resources, among others, to help them implement in their home regions the sustainability strategies they have used.

For more information on benefits to current ARS members under the Affiliation Agreement, click here.

For more information on ACCE, click here.