Thank you to all of IACED's  members, sponsors, and partners that helped make the 2010 Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development a success! More than 300 individuals participated in the Power of Progress: Accelerating Community Transformation.

The Power of Progress gave attendees a good mix of both field and theory experiences. For those of you who were unable to attend, you missed great content. IACED will be posting videos and handouts from the plenary sessions to our website (www.iaced.org) in the coming weeks for attendees and association members.

The most recognizable change to this year's conference was the addition of four learning labs (field trips) on the first day of the conference, which gave attendees a firsthand look at various innovative, progressive, and successful community development programs and projects around the state.

The positive feedback from those who attended made the planning challenges all worthwhile. The only major complaint IACED received was the fact that four learning labs were concurrent, which made it impossible for attendees to attend more than one! The learning labs exposed attendees to best practices, grassroots initiatives, and impactful projects in the areas of comprehensive community development, holistic homeless services, high performance (green) building, and neighborhood stabilization and revitalization.

Annual Member Meeting

IACED's Annual Membership meeting took place on September 21, 2010. Members and guests heard about the state of the association and the legislative agenda for the upcoming General Assembly session.  Also unveiled during the meeting was IACED's membership video developed in partnership with Real Images Video Productions. Read about the meeting here.

The second day of the conference featured plenary sessions, designed as thought-provoking discussions around the Power of People, Power of Innovative Solutions, Power of Big Picture Thinking, and the Power of Partnerships that attendees could apply to their own lives and communities. Speakers came from diverse backgrounds and challenged attendees to rethink how they individually and collectively work towards enhancing quality of life.

As with past conferences, the highlight of this year's event was the annual awards luncheon. Lt. Governor Becky Skillman joined IACED and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) to honor all of the nominees and winners for their impact on Hoosier communities.

Award winners were selected by a panel of judges with expertise in the housing and community economic development fields. Nominees were selected by a separate committee and were judged based upon their impact, initiative, collaboration, financial soundness and creativity in furthering the community development industry in Indiana. Thank you to the committee members.

The following awards were presented:

Michael Carroll Community Economic Development Leadership Award sponsored by Milestone Ventures, Inc.

• Linda Klinck, City of Logansport, Logansport

Robert O. Zdenek Staff Member of the Year Award sponsored by Neighborhood Development Associates, LLC

• Trish Lewis, Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, Indianapolis

Governor's Award for Excellence in Rural Affordable Housing sponsored by the Indiana Builders Association

• Spicewood Gardens led by Hamilton County Area Neighborhood Development, Sheridian

Governor's Award for Excellence in Urban Affordable Housing sponsored by the Indiana Builders Association

• 21st Street Senior Apartments led by Community Action of Greater Indianapolis, Indianapolis

Key Award for Supportive Services Program sponsored by Lake City Bank and Centerfield Capital Partners

• Robinson Community Learning Center's Youth Entrepreneurship Program, South Bend
  

In addition to the above awards presented by IACED and IHCDA, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis also presented its annual Community Spirit Award to Old National Bank Community Development Officer and IACED Board Member, Mark Gould.

Congratulations to all the award winners.

Thank you again to everyone that helped make this year's conference a success, especially Tommy Tabor with IACED, David Kaufmann, Jennifer Halstead, and Amber Sheffer with IHCDA. If you have comments about the 2010 conference or ideas for the 2011 conference, contact Member Services Manager, Tommy Tabor.

 Regards,