●The conference will take place at the historic Island Players Theater (circa 1912) that can accommodate up to 125. We will invite an audience that includes artists, businesspeople, conservationists, educators, media, nonprofit managers, tourism professionals, urban, rural and transportation planners, and others who engage Florida sustainably in part by redefining of "the good life" differently from limitless consumption.

●We have four presenting cities/regions: Wakulla and mainland Franklin counties; coastal Manatee County; the DeLand area, and Miami Beach. Each of the four will represent its sustainable and authentic qualities, how these qualities drive their places, and the promise of their enlarged engagement. Our keynote speakers will explore how the qualities of these places can engender like futures elsewhere. This transference drives the entire conference.  

●Keynote speakers include global business lecturer Robert A. Britton, Ph.D.; Gary Mormino, Ph.D., Frank Duckworth Professor of History at the University of South Florida/St. Pete; and Robert H. McNulty, President, Partners for Livable Communities, Washington, DC (invited).

●Our goal is to secure a nonprofit umbrella for the conference during the next 60 days. We are looking into sources of funding for a $70,000 budget. We welcome your assistance in this quest. 

Coastal Manatee County

The Anna Maria City Pier 

Our October 2012 conference on Sustainable and Authentic Florida had its start when Caroline McKeon helped arrange two writing trips for me. In coastal Manatee County I was immediately struck by how alike visitors and locals experience that un-amplified realm. I kept repeating to myself "authentic" and "one-of-a-kind." What made me act was dinner one evening when I found that I could in fact tell locals from visitors. Some people after dinner straightaway left. Others on their way out stopped at one or two tables to schmooze. Locals!

Caroline introduced me to restaurateur Ed Chiles and to resort operator David Teitelbaum. Ed's family has a long history on Anna Maria Island. The CIty of Anna Maria and its businesspeople are halfway toward transforming Anna Maria's half-mile Pine Avenue from rundown to robust and sustainable comeback. Preservationists Lizzie and Michael Thrashers' passion is preserving historic buildings and retrofitting them with state-of-the-art sustainable design. During New York years, David earned accolades as "the king of adaptive re-use." Today he's doing the same in Bradenton Beach. I already knew Charlie Hunsicker, the Manatee marvel at acquiring conservation lands. "Mayor" of the historic Cortez fishing village Karen Bell forever earned my admiration when I learned that she had just said no to bus tours.  Contractor and outdoors writer/photographer Rusty Chinnis has been a leader in keeping the historic north end of Longboat Key from changing little faster than a ketch becalmed. Dr. Ernie Estevez of Mote Marine Lab grew up in Anna Maria and set forth an environmental agenda that underlies everything else.  

Where else, I wondered, might we find comparably authentic Florida places? I right away knew of Wakulla County and mainland Franklin next door; of the DeLand area, and of Miami Beach. I also knew of others -- Sanibel, coastal Martin County, Delray, Key West. But when Caroline and I started talking we knew that a two-day conference could review only so much content.  We wanted four places of different character in different parts of the state. Then, one productive conference might call for another, so that a mounting number of places could altogether help focus Florida in a newly sustainable and authentic way.

You will notice that our first conference sponsors are the nonprofit that I have long consulted with and Caroline's own company. We knew that success of the effort would depend on keeping it in the hands of people without political or corporatist agendas. Others will come to engage.  But because we're about authenticity, we need ethically compatible supporters. People authoritative about these subjects and who we greatly respect right away liked the conference model and agreed to take part. Caroline found us the perfect meeting venue in the City of Anna Maria.

Now we're on our way together and will achieve the outcomes we want.