Wednesday, October 24, 2007

North Raleigh Hilton

2:00 Welcome

Tom Lambeth, Chairman of the Rural Center Board of Directors

Dedication of the Rural Training & Conference Center

The Rural Center's newly constructed training and conference center, open for business on November 1, will provide a welcoming place for established and emerging leaders to gather, learn, grow ideas and set new directions for the future. Be sure to join us for this opening event of the forum - a dedication ceremony with an interesting new twist - and find out how this facility can serve the needs of your organization.

• Ribbon-cutting ceremony
• Virtual tour of the new facility
• Recognition of donors
• Remarks
• Philip Trader, N.C. Representative, U.S. Economic Development Administration

2:45 Leadership at Work: New Financial Resources for Rural Communities

The N.C. General Assembly demonstrated its strong commitment to rural North Carolina this session by authorizing significant investments in rural communities. Legislative leaders will join the Rural Center in announcing more than $130 million in grants and loans for water and sewer construction, building reuse, business expansions, large-scale economic development projects and innovative community projects. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, a long-term funding partner, will announce a major new rural development initiative.

• Overview of grant and loan opportunities: Billy Ray Hall, Rural Center President
• Remarks
• John Cooper, N.C. State Director, USDA Rural Development
• N.C. Speaker of the House Joe Hackney
• President Pro Tempore of the N.C. Senate Marc Basnight
• Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue

* Note: Workshops detailing the requirements of each program will be conducted immediately following the forum on October 25. Additional workshops will be held across the state during the week of October 29-November 2

4:00 Front Porch Stories: Lessons in Leadership

A highlight of the forum, this special session will feature four widely respected North Carolinians who have lived and worked in interesting times, served in many leadership positions and observed the best and worst of leadership styles. Sitting on a 'front porch' created just for them, our guests will discuss what makes leaders tick and share stories from their wide-ranging experience - stories of courage, humor, compassion, quick thinking and maybe a few surprise endings.

• Host: Shannon Vickery, Executive Producer Content, UNC-TV
• Guests:
• Burley Mitchell, former Chief Justice of the N.C. Supreme Court
• Becky Anderson, Executive Director of HandMade in America
• Howard Lee, Chairman, State Board of Education
• Nolo Martinez, Center for New North Carolinians, UNC-G

CELEBRATE! RURAL NORTH CAROLINA

Enjoy a fun-filled evening of food and fellowship as we celebrate all that is good about rural North Carolina and pay tribute to the leaders who make miracles happen, large and small, in hundreds of rural communities every day. Also join the Rural Center in celebration of its 20 years of service to rural North Carolina.

5:30 Reception: A taste of North Carolina's bounty

Guests will gather in the Grand Ballroom prefunction area to mix and mingle and to enjoy a "spread" featuring the best of North Carolina-grown foods and wines.

6:30 Rural Partners Banquet & Evening of Stellar Entertainment

Following dinner will be special presentations in recognition of the center's 20th anniversary and, beginning at 7:15, an evening of unforgettable music presented by David Holt and Cephas & Wiggins.

9:30 Evening Concludes

Thursday, October 25, 2007

North Raleigh Hilton

7:30 Country Breakfast Buffet

8:30 Opening Address

William Hodding Carter III, Professor of Leadership and Public Policy, UNC-Chapel Hill Day #2 will open with remarks by one of the South's finest sons, William Hodding Carter III. Raised in Mississippi, Carter was involved in the civil rights movement, both editorially and in political action. He served as Assistant Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter, held various positions for ABC, BBC, CNN, NBC, and PBS, including anchor, commentator, panelist, and reporter and was president of the Knight Foundation. He now serves as University Professor of Leadership and Public Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill.

9:15 Break

9:30 Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

Dr. Vaughn Grisham, Professor of Sociology and Director of the McLean Institute for Community Development at the University of Mississippi Dr. Grisham has spent the last 35 years studying how some communities excel in the face of adversity and other fail. He has written extensively on those extraordinary communities and their leaders around the United States and has come to recognize the common factors. Most recently he has been conducting research in North Carolina and has just bought a home in Bakersville, N.C. Dr. Grisham not only is a respected researcher, author and teacher, but a great Southern storyteller as well.

10:30 N.C. RURAL LEADERS: LIGHTING THE WAY FORWARD

What Leaders Want: Report on Leadership Survey

The Rural Center is surveying rural leaders to determine their top concerns and the kinds of assistance that will help them most in their leadership roles. The results of the survey will be reported in this session. Brian Crutchfield, Director of Economic Development for Northwestern North Carolina, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation

Video: Leading in Demanding Times - Our Unsung Heroes

This 20-minute video showcases rural leaders and their successful economic development initiatives. The leaders will talk about the challenges of rural leadership and ways they're tackling some of the hardest issues of our times - economic transitions, crossing racial and ethnic barriers, overcoming a sense of isolation, broadening the leadership base, discovering and building on local assets and more. At the conclusion there will be a special recognition of graduates of the Rural Center's Rural Economic Development Institute since 1989. Andrea Harris, President, N.C. Institute of Minority Economic Development

Announcement: New Leadership Opportunities Unveiled

The Rural Center will present a three-year agenda to substantially increase rural leadership training opportunities, connect small local governments with professional management assistance, and to increase rural outreach and engagement. A calendar of upcoming events will be distributed. Andy Anderson, President and Co-owner of Community Innovations, Inc.

11:30 Closing Lunch Buffet

12:30 Workshops

The Rural Center will conduct three concurrent workshops to overview new grant and loan opportunities available through the newly appropriated rural development funds. The workshops will be on:

• Water and Sewer grants
• Rural Venture Fund loans and Building Reuse and Restoration grants
• Economic Innovation grants

Forum participants should be sure to sign up for the workshop of their choice when registering for the forum.