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Opportunities to Volunteer
We are looking forward to hosting a successful conference in 2012 at the Park City Marriott in beautiful Park City, Utah. With nine months to go, we want to fill committee positions quickly so we can maximize the time to make NACDEP 2012 the best conference yet!
In the link below, you will see what committees are being formed and where we need help.
If you are interested in serving on a committee or simply desire additional information, please feel free to contact Michael Wilcox by email at: mwilcox2@utk.edu .
Conference Volunteers Needed |
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Greetings!
 The 2012 NACDEP Conference will be held in Park City, Utah, May 20-23, 2012, at the Park City Marriott. Nestled in Utah's Wasatch Mountains, Park City is 32 miles from downtown Salt Lake City and a short 35 minute drive from Salt Lake International Airport (http://www.slcairport.com/), Delta Airlines' Western Hub, and also served by American, Continental, Frontier, Jet Blue, Southwest, United, and US Airways. Park City was founded as a silver-mining town in 1869, and by 1900, it was a booming mining town with 10,000 residents and 100 saloons. Summit County was one of the fastest growing counties in the U.S. during the 1990s, attractive to many by the scenic amenities offered in the area. In 2002, Park City was the Alpine Heart of the Winter Olympics. Lying in the heart of the Wasatch Mountains, the elevation of Park City's Main Street is about 7,000 feet above sea level, and the summits of the surrounding snow-capped mountains are around 10,000 feet. With its unique historic downtown and three world class summer/winter resorts, Park City was listed by Forbes Traveler Magazine as one of the 20 "prettiest towns" in America in 2008. The city has many upscale luxury retailers, art galleries, and bars and restaurants. Park City is also a mecca for outdoor recreation activities for any season, with nearby parklands and forests with hiking and biking trails, waterways for boating and fishing, and a host of other activities. Visit www.parkcityinfo.com for more information. For business travelers and pleasure-seeking vacationers alike, the Park City Marriott is the landmark choice of Park City hotels, offering majestic views of the surrounding mountains and world-class comfort. Visit www.parkcitymarriott.com/ for more information. |
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Theme and Tracks
Since our first conference in 2005 ("Building Our Future Together" in Las Vegas), NACDEP has always strived to make the conference highly relevant to members, and the constituents they serve, by choosing a timely theme and tracks oriented toward our expertise and with an eye on emerging issues.
To guide our theme and track development, we went back and created a database that contains all of the themes and tracks for all six NACDEP conferences (Galaxy was not included). Interestingly (and not surprisingly!), three tracks were obvious stalwarts: Economic Development; Leadership, Civic Engagement & Public Deliberation; and Environment, Land Use and Natural Resources. That said, we've had a wide range of other tracks over the years as well. Additionally, our themes have reflected our organizational growth and the national situation at the time.
This year, 2011-12, has been and obviously will be marked by national, state and local level debates on how we utilize our finite resources and plan for the future. As such, we thought we should take a theme from our own community development playbook and design tracks that support the theme in a broad way. As such, we have chosen the theme of "Capitalizing on Our Assets" for 2012 and decided to align the tracks with the "Community Capitals" framework: Human, Financial, Political, Social, Cultural, Natural, and Built.
We are excited about the theme and tracks! Now the task at hand is to develop and distribute the Request for Proposals (due out in September 2011) and to make certain that we have the "capitals" in place to make 2012 an excellent professional development opportunity.
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Tentative Agenda
Steve and I greatly appreciate all of the efforts that went into collecting information from our members to determine what led to another successful conference in lovely Charleston, SC, earlier this year. We have listened and learned and are striving to make 2012 productive, useful, fun, and user friendly.
Several factors have played a significant role in designing the agenda for 2012. Based on flight schedules into Salt Lake City (SLC), abundant opportunities for experiential learning, a desire to learn from and impact the local economy, and seeking to maximize learning and networking opportunities, we have developed the following draft agenda.
- Sunday, May 20, 2012 - Evening Opening Welcome Reception and Poster Session
- Monday, May 21, 2012 - All Day Conference with Dinner (Awards)
- Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - Morning Conference and afternoon Field Trips with box lunches; dinner on own
- Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - Morning Conference; may organize some afternoon tours similar to field trips on Tuesday afternoon or post-conference workshops; may organize a barbecue cook-out dinner for folks staying the night
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Potential Field Trips, Tuesday
- Park City Museum and Walking Tour of Historic Downtown.
- Mountain Bike Ride on Historic Union Pacific Trail
- Utah Olympic Park Tour and Bobsled Ride
- This is the Place Heritage Park
- Antelope Island State Park
Field Trip Details and Links |
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