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INSTITUTE FOR RURAL JOURNALISM & COMMUNITY ISSUES

Rural Calendar

Sept. 13: Deadline to register for NPF seminars on retirement issues

Journalists across the country can participate by phone and e-mail in three National Press Foundation programs on retirement issues. By making a reservation to one or more of these sessions, you can listen free to their presentations by phone, then participate in the Q&A session by submitting questions via e-mail or live chat. Available spots for the conference calls are filling quickly, NPF says. Here's the schedule:.

Saving for Retirement: Issues and Solutions: Monday, Sept. 17, from 1:00–2:15 p.m. EST, with Mark Iwry, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, senior adviser for The Retirement Security Project, and counsel for Sullivan & Cromwell, Washington, D.C. RSVP Now

Retirement in the Private Sector: Tuesday, Sept. 18, from 1:00–2:15 p.m. EST, with Dallas Salisbury, president & CEO of the Employee Benefit Research Institute. RSVP Now

What Americans Do and Don't Know about Retirement, Wednesday, Sept. 19, from 1:00–2:15 p.m. EST with Barbara Bovbjerg, Director of Education, Workforce and Security Issues at the Government Accountability Office. RSVP Now

There is no cost, but space is very limited and reservations are required. E-mail philip@nationalpress.org with your name, title, media affiliation, and phone number. Deadline: Thursday, Sept. 13. Click here to RSVP for all sessions. These sessions are part of NPF's four-day seminar for journalists on "Retirement Issues in the 21st Century," underwritten by a grant from Prudential Financial Inc.

Sept. 14: Early deadline for Sept. 20-21 Iowa natural-resources conference

The Drake University Law School will kick off the 25th anniversary celebration of its Agricultural Law Center with "Rural Lands Rural Livelihoods: Using Land and Natural Resources to Revitalize Rural Iowa," a conference and art show beginning Thursday, Sept. 20.

Organized by the center in cooperation with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development, with funding from the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, the conference will be held Sept. 20 and 21 in Drake's Olmsted Center, 2875 University Ave. It will focus on the role of Iowa’s land as the basis for rural development and new economic enterprises. Speakers will discuss a range of new ventures underway in Iowa and discuss the motivations of landowners.

Conference keynote speakers include Mark Ackelson, president of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation; Mike Tramontina, director of Iowa Department of Economic Development; Mark Reisinger, executive director of USDA Rural Development for Iowa; Jerry DeWitt, director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.

The ag-law center is sponsoring the "Rural Land Rural Livelihoods All Iowa Art Show," beginning with an evening reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Sept. 20, in the Neal and Bea Smith Law Center, 2400 University Ave., and going through Wednesday, Oct. 17. Gallery hours are 8:30 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The juried art show will feature the work of local professional and amateur Iowa artists and explore the role of art in rural America. More than 30 artists submitted 80 pieces of artwork in categories addressing rural land and life including restoration of native prairies, wineries, raising food for direct marketing, using land for hunting and recreation, wildlife, and natural landscapes. Ignatius Widiapradja, Drake associate professor of art and owner of Padma Gallery, Des Moines, and Lea Rosson DeLong, art historian and curator, Des Moines, will judge the competition and winners will be awarded cash prizes totaling $1,200.

For more information and a detailed schedule of the conference visit its Web site. The fee is $75 per person before Sept. 14 and $90 per person after Sept. 14, which includes the conference and all meals.

Sept. 15: SPJ chapter to organize in southeastern Ohio, serve Ky., W.Va.

The proposed Southern Ohio Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists will have an informational and organzational meeting Saturday, Sept. 15 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Howland Recital Hall of the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth. The street address is 940 Second St. The meeting is sponsored by the university and Hometown Broadcasting of Portsmouth.

Organizers are recruiting members from adjacent areas of Kentucky and West Virginia. To help them plan for adequate seating, refreshments and other resources, those who plan to attend are asked to send an e-mail to SouthernOhio@spj.org. The chapter's mailing address is 4259 Oak St., New Boston OH 45662. Reach chapter coordinator Ryan Scott Ottney at 740-353-3101, ext. 235.

Sept. 15: Environmental Farming Systems Fall Festival in Goldsboro, N.C.

The Center for Environmental Farming Systems Fall Festival will be held Sept. 15 in Goldsboro, N.C. The festival features exhibits on organic and sustainable farming, home gardening, small farm equipment, and healthy eating. Local experts will also offer demonstrations on topics of interest to farmers and home gardeners, and there will be a number of agriculture activities for kids, including games, crafts, and much more. Farm tours, live music and plenty of food are also on the schedule! For more information visit http://www.cefs.ncsu.edu/fallfestival2007.htm.

Sept. 16-18: SNPA workshop in Atlanta for smaller newspapers

The Southern Newspaper Publishers Association will holds its Workshop for Smaller Newspapers Sept. 16-18 at the Embassy Suites Hotel Buckhead in Atlanta. The emphasis will be on increasing revenue. The most journalism-oriented session appears to be "Innovations in the Newsroom and on the Internet," with Skip Foster, publisher of the Shelby (N.C.) Star. Other sessions include "Strategic Cost Cutting," with John Greenman, former Knight Ridder publisher and the Carter Professor of Journalism at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.

For a registration form, click here. To reserve hotel accommodations at the Embassy Suites Hotel Atlanta Buckhead, call 1-800-362-2779 or 404-261-7733. Room rates are $134, plus tax, for single or double rooms. Reserve your room by Sept. 1. Rooms may not be available after that date.

Sept. 26-29: National Newspaper Association convention in Norfolk

The National Newspaper Association's 121st Annual Convention & Trade Show, geared to weeklies and small dailies, will be held Sept. 26-29 at the Waterside Marriott in Norfolk, Va. Daily and non-member registration options are available. On-line registration  will be available on NNA's website at www.nna.org, or by calling the association at (800) 829-4662. For the convention page of the site, click here.

Sept. 28: Can Distance Education Save Rural Schools? See at Rogers, Ark.

What can distance education do to help rural schools satisfy increasing academic requirements? What are the legal and technical barriers to its use in Arkansas? What is the demand for these services in the state? These are only a few of the questions facing policymakers, schools, and parents as we consider how best to serve our students. The Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas invites you to a one-day event Sept. 28 from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. featuring experts on distance education as we try to answer these questions. For more information, e-mail jbutcher@uark.edu or call 479-575-7024.

Sept. 28-29: Annual Healthy Foods, Local Farms Conference in Louisville

Alice Waters, who revolutionized American cooking by introducing “ California cuisine”, will be the featured speaker at the ninth annual Healthy Foods, Local Farms Conference on Sept. 29 at Bellarmine University in Louisville. Waters is the own of the renowned Chez Panisse in Berkley, California, one of the first restaurants to promote local and organic food. Other speakers include Wendell Berry, Dr. Sally Kneidel and daughter Sara Kate Kneidel, and panels featuring local farmers and students from middle school to college.

Begun by the Sierra Club, the annual conference seeks to educate the public on how our eating habits affect our the environment, health, local farm economies, and the land itself. In addition to the Sierra Club, co-sponsors and partners include Bellarmine University, Brown-Forman Corp., Slow Food Bluegrass, Community Farm Alliance, Partners for Family Farms, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the Kentucky Resources Council, the Kentucky Council of Churches and Heine Brothers Coffee.

Registration deadline is Sept. 15. The $40 fee includes meals of local, seasonal food. Scholarships are available. On Friday night, Sept. 28, the Greater Louisville Group Sierra Club and Slow Food Bluegrass will host a pre-conference celebration at historic Waldeck Mansion in Crestwood. For $30, participants can sample food from a number of leading chefs, teamed with farmers who grew the food. There will be musical entertainment. For more information, click here.

Sept. 28-30: True Nature County Fair celebrates sustainable living

The first annual True Nature County Fair will be held Sept. 28-30 in Horse Shoe, N.C., just west of Hendersonville. The fair is a weekend-long celebration of sustainable living in the Southern Appalachians featuring vendors of local, organic, and sustainable products and resources from throughout the Southeast, workshops on all facets of sustainable living, a children's program and live music in a pristine mountain setting. For more information visit www.organicgrowersschool.org.

Oct. 4-7: Society of Professional Journalists' national conference in D.C.

The 2007 Society of Professional Journalists Convention & National Journalism Conference, Oct. 4-7 in Washington, D.C., is a chance to meet and connect with reporters, editors, freelancers and educators from across the world. The schedule includes hands-on training sessions exploring topics and issues in journalism, such as new media, election coverage, career development, investigative reporting, ethics and responsiblity, access to and use of public records, writing and editing high-impact stories, diversifying your sources and coverage, and leadership issues and challenges in modern newsrooms.

Register online at https://www.spj.org/c-register.asp, download a faxable or mailable registration form at https://www.spj.org/c-register.asp, or register by calling 317-927-8000, ext. 203 (Linda Hall). For further details, including travel and hotel information and program descriptions, visit www.spj.org/convention.asp.

Oct. 7-13: This is a good year to observe National Newspaper Week

National Newspaper Week has been held annually for a long time, but with growing threats to newspapers -- at least their current business models -- this is be a good year to promote it to the public. This year's theme is the value of public-notice advertising. The observance is coordinated by the Newspaper Association Managers group. One member, Tom Larimer of the Arkansas Press Association, writes:

"This is a great time to host a customer appreciation event at the newspaper. Hold an open house. Give away some cake, cookies, coffee and soft drinks. Flip some burgers out in the alley. Put out a special section. Give away some door prizes. Give tours. Let your readers and advertisers know you appreciate them. But most importantly, call attention to the newspaper during this week, emphasizing the importance of the newspaper to the community. It’s your time to toot your own horn and to tell the newspaper’s story. If we don’t do this, who do you suppose will?"

Oct. 16-17: Governor's Conference on Biofuels, Oklahoma City

The Governor's Conference on Biofuels will be held October 16-17 in Oklahoma City. James Woolsey, former director of the CIA, will be a keynote speaker, addressing the relationship between national security and the development of alternative transportation fuels.

Gov. Brad Henry is promoting the production of ethanol from switchgrass and other varieties of perennial prairie grasses, which grow naturally in Oklahoma. he notes that such grasses are relatively drought resistant, require modest amounts of energy-intensive fertilizers and regenerate yearly, while corn requires annual replanting, large amounts of water and energy-intensive fertilizers.

Registration for the event is $45. For more information go to www.GrowOK.com or call 1-800-203-5494.

Oct. 19-20: Family newspaper owners annual ‘reunion’ in Chicago

One of the more encouraging gatherings in the newspaper business is the growing "reunion" of family owners of newspaper companies, scheduled this year for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 19-20, at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel.  During the past three years, this meeting has grown in participation, buoyed by the growing number of "next generation" participants, sons and daughters developing knowledge and commitment to their family's newspaper ownership.

The meetung is sponsored by the Inland Press Foundation and the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association. It is exclusively for family owners of newspaper companies, including those who may not be active in day-to-day operations and for key people in the operation who need to be attuned to the nuances of family ownership. For details and a registration form, click here.

Oct. 22-24: Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere conference

The Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere program will hold its annual conference Oct. 22-24 at the Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City, Tenn. The conference will address challenges — development pressure, increased water demand, non-native species introductions, and potential conversion of agricultural land — and responses to protect resources. Formats vary from papers and posters that explore a range of issues, to workshops for focused investigation and learning, to field trips for a fresh perspective.

Topics include agricultural techniques that benefit wildlife, a study of community-based responses to growing development pressure, how development patterns in the Southern Appalachians affect humans' health and their relationship with the land, what a growing demand for biofuels means for land use, farm sustainability, and the ecology of the Southern Appalachians. Registration and accommodations information is at www.samab.org.  For more information, call 865-974-5912.

Oct. 31-Nov. 2: Ky. Women in Agriculture meeting to focus on local foods

Women involved in agriculture or those interested in agriculture, rural living and local foods are invited to attend the annual conference of Kentucky Women in Agriculture, Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 in Lexington. Several deadlines for registration and lodging fall on Oct. 1, and some workshops are limited in size. The group meets annually to focus on ways to empower women through education, involvement, and action. The focus of this year’s meeting will be “Local Foods – Growing Our Heritage.”

Pre-conference workshops will be conducted on Oct. 31 and have limited availability. The Kentucky value-added workshop is a full day of learning about the state’s value-added products. It will include stops at the Kentucky Artisan Center in Berea, Acres of Land Winery and farm, Three Toads Farm and Valentine’s Ice Cream. Registration is $25 and is limited to the first 42 registrants. A workshop on risk-assessed business planning for small producers is designed for anyone trying to improve the financial outcomes of their agricultural enterprises and will include fundamental steps of business planning, how to develop an enterprise budget and basic financial and accounting management practices. Marion Simon from Kentucky State University will conduct the workshop; registration is $10 including lunch and materials and is limited to the first 20 registrants. A home-based microprocessor workshop is designed to provide information on food safety, sanitation and home canning procedures. It is required for home-based microprocessor certification. More information can be found at www.ca.uky.edu/micro/. The registration fee is $50 including lunch and is limited to the first 25 registrants.

Conference activities begin Nov. 1 with a full slate of activities for participants. Featured speakers include Lucy Breathitt, a leader in the effort to conserve open space and farmland in the bluegrass, and Cynthia Bohn, Equus Run Vineyards owner, winemaker and vineyard manager. Concurrent sessions throughout the day will examine pioneer foods, preserving barns, enriching your life: cooking for your family, selling to restaurants and retailers, quilted barns, building female leadership and legislative and Farm Bill updates. Other sessions include historical artifacts and crafts, nutrition label making, finding your niche – a success story, selling to restaurants and retailers, estate planning with retirement options and presentations by the Kentucky Historical Society, “Diary of the Depression” and “Tobacco Tales.” A statewide candidates’ forum is set for 4 p.m. followed by A Taste of Kentucky Proud reception featuring Kentucky products.

Nov. 2 events include roundtable discussions on Annie’s Project, composting, the 2010 World Equestrian Games at the Kentucky Horse Park, slow foods, heirloom seeds and plants, marketing goats, U.S. Department of Agriculture programs, sustainable agriculture, MarketMaker.org, high tunnel production and season extending techniques and qualifying for federal, state and local grants. A computing made easy course will be offered at the same time as the roundtable discussions. Advance registration is required and limited to the first 24 registrants.

The conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza-Campbell House in Lexington. Special KWIA conference rates are available if reserved before Oct. 1. Call the hotel at 877-227-6963 and ask for the KWIA rate. Participants should pre-register for the conference by Oct. 1 to avoid late fees. Fee information and registration forms, as well as a full itinerary for the conference can be found at www.kywomeninag.org. For more information contact Inman or Ashley Osborne at info@kywomeninag.org or call 877-266-8823.

 

Institute for Rural Journalism & Community Issues

School of Journalism and Telecommunications,
College of Communications and Information Studies

122 Grehan Journalism Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0042

Phone 859-257-3744, fax 859-323-3168


Last updated Sept. 4, 2007

Questions about the web site: Contact Al Cross, Institute director, al.cross@uky.edu