| 2:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. |
DRA board meeting - Audubon Level One |
| Noon - 4 p.m. |
Registration - Lafayette Foyer Level Two |
| 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. |
HRSA technical assistance workshop: Funding Opportunities and Resources in Rural Communities - Lafayette East Level Two |
| 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. |
Continental breakfast - Salon I & II Level Two |
| 9 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. |
Opening ceremonies
Salon I & II
Pete Johnson, federal co-chairman, Delta Regional Authority
The Delta Regional Authority serves 252 counties and parishes in an eight-state region. Johnson was nominated for this position by President Bush in March 2001 and was unanimously confirmed by the U. S. Senate in September 2001
|
| 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. |
"The Face of the New Delta"
Salon I & II
Ron Crouch, director of the Kentucky State Data Center, University of Louisville
Crouch has developed a national database analyzing trends by both census regions and states. He also has developed census profiles for all 50 states. Each state is undergoing major demographic and economic revolutions. Our population is aging. Our economy is moving from a manufacturing to a knowledge economy. We are growing more diverse.
|
| 10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. |
Break |
| 11 a.m. - noon |
"A New Delta for the 21st Century"
Salon I & II
Jon Roberts, managing director, TIP Strategies Inc.
TIP is a business and economic development consulting firm committed to providing quality solutions for both public and private-sector clients. The firm's areas of expertise include strategic planning, redevelopment analysis and planning. TIP is helping the DRA board develop a strategic economic development plan for the region.
|
| Noon - 1:30 p.m. |
Luncheon
Lafayette Ballroom Level Two
Keynote address - Rick Bragg, Author of All Over but the Shoutin'; Ava's Man; Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg; I Am a Solider, Too: the Jessica Lynch Story; and the new The Prince of Frogtown
In 1996, Bragg was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing, for what the judges called "elegantly written stories on contemporary America." They included stories on the country sheriff who caught Susan Smith, an Alabama prison where old inmates go to die, a Mississippi washerwoman who became a national hero and the nightmare bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City.
|
| 1:30 p.m. - 2 p.m. |
Book signing by Rick Bragg
Lafayette Foyer
|
| 2:15 p.m. - 4 p.m. |
2008 National Election Forecast
Salon I & II
Michael Barone, senior writer for U.S. News & World Report
Barone is the co-author of The Almanac of American Politics, a text issued every other year since the 1972 edition and nominated for a National Book Award. He is also the author of Our Country: The Shaping of America from Roosevelt to Reagan; The New Americans: How the Melting Pot Can Work Again; and Hard America, Soft America: Competition vs. Coddling and the Competition for the Nation’s Future. Barone is a contributor to the Fox News Channel and has appeared as an analyst on various radio and television programs.
|
| 4 p.m. |
Conference concludes for the day
|
| 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. |
Evening reception - Lafayette Ballroom Level Two |
| 8:30 a.m. - 9 a.m. |
Continental breakfast - Salon I & II Level Two |
| 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. |
Keynote Address
Salon I & II
Sean Cummings, president, ekistics Inc., and chief executive officer, New Orleans Building Corp.
Sean Cummings is president of ekistics Inc., a New Orleans-based real estate development firm that has created nationally recognized lofts and boutique hotels that mix historic architecture and the city's unique culture. This July, ekistics will break ground on one of the city's first "green" multifamily buildings. With the help of Global Green USA, the design reduces carbon emissions by 75 percent and energy consumption by 50 percent. Cummings also serves as chief executive officer of the New Orleans Building Corp. In this government appointment, he recently signed a deal with New York-based Full Spectrum NY to redevelop the World Trade Center of New Orleans as a mixed-use project that will bring the corporation almost $30 million.
|
| 10 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. |
Break |
| 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. |
"How To Keep Talent in the Region: Entrepreneurship"
Salon I & II
Nicolas Perkin, co-founder and president, New Orleans Receivables Exchange
Perkin brings extensive management and analytical experience to the New Orleans Receivables Exchange. Most recently he was executive vice president at EmSense Corp., a next-generation media measurement company. Perkin was vice president of global business development for Massive Inc., which was acquired by Microsoft Corp. in May 2006 for a reported $200 million.
|
| Noon - 1 p.m. |
Luncheon
Lafayette Ballroom Level Two
Keynote address - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal - Invited
|
| 1 p.m. |
Guided group tours by Gray Line Tours will leave the hotel. |
| 1 p.m. |
Conference concludes |