The Delta Grassroots Caucus (DGC) is a broad coalition of grassroots leaders in the eight-state Delta region. DGC is also a founding partner of the Economic Equality Caucus,
which advocates for economic equality across the USA.

Contacts for DC Events Planning on Sept. 21-23 During Lee Powell's Hospitalization

Posted on September 16, 2010 at 09:26 PM

Delta Caucus contacts for planning of the Sept. 21-23 Washington, DC conference will be Desha County Judge Mark McElroy (office is 870-877-2426, cell is 870-222-8440); Mayor Barrett Harrison of Blytheville, Arkansas; Martha Ellen Black of the Susanna Wesley Family Learning Center in Missouri (573-683-0783); and Delta Caucus staff assistant Preston Ferguson (240) 993-9999. Lee Powell has been hospitalized with blood clots in his lungs and it is not known how long the recovery will take.

Mr. Powell was in intensive care from Monday to Thursday, Sept. 16, but then shifted to a regular hospital room, so the worst is over, hopefully. This was totally unexpected because Mr. Powell had absolutely no history of blood clots. He went to a doctor several weeks ago with shortness of breath, a cough and fatigue, but the problem was incorrectly diagnosed as a relapse of bronchitis, so the existence of the clots remained unknown for all that time until acute distress led to tests revealing the clots, which had expanded into life-threatening embolisms in the lungs. In any event, Mr. Powell survived the worst of it and presumably will be back in the saddle at some point and Judge McElroy, Mayor Harrison and Martha Ellen Black will fill in until then.

Doctors indicated that the clots were likely caused by Powell’s extensive travels by car throughout the Delta, followed by a lengthy return trip from Arkansas to Washington, DC by car, during which time his foot was inactive and clots probably formed.

For any questions about the Sept. 21-23 schedule of anything else about the conference, contact either the coordinators listed above or see the website at www.mdgc.us, which has extensive information about the information. Click on the link at “Caucus Articles” for a lengthy list of articles on a wide variety of Delta regional issues.

SCHEDULE: OPENING SESSION: Tuesday, Sept. 21, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Room B-339 Rayburn House of Representatives building

RECEPTION, 5 P.M. TO 5:30 P.M.

5:25 Introduction–Delta Caucus

  1. Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson–5:30 TO 5:40 P.M. (Introduced by Mike Marshall, Federal Alternate Cochair, Delta Regional Authority)

  2. Mayor Barrett Harrison, Blytheville, Arkansas 5:40 TO 5:50 p.m. (Job creation and FEMA’s ill-advised plan to redraw the flood plain maps and escalate flood insurance costs)

  3. Congressman Mike Ross–5:50 TO 6:10–

  4. Federal Cochair of the Delta Regional Authority, Chris Masingill (President Obama’s appointee to the DRA, recently confirmed by the US Senate) 6:10 to 6:30

  1. Dr. Mario Cruz-Penate, INVITED, Pan American Health Organization, Regional Adviser for Health Systems; World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office of the Americas; the Pan American Health Organization is a strong supporter of the Community Health House Network

7 to 8 p.m.–Panel on Job Creation/Economic Recovery

  1. Alan Gumbel, Moderator and Speaker, President, Gumbel & Associates, Memphis, Tennessee, veteran Delta regional development expert

  2. Alan Branson, COO, Enterprise Corporation of the Delta/HOPE Credit Union, based in Jackson, Mississippi; active across Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana

  3. George Miles, Delta LISC, based in Greenville, Mississippi, active across Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana

  4. Mayor Glen McCord, Yellow Bluff, Alabama

SENATE SESSION: Wednesday morning, Sept. 22, 8:30 a.m. to noon, Room 385 Senate Russell building

“Big Picture” Regional Economic Development Panel, 8:30 to 10 a.m.

  1. Mike Marshall, Moderator and Speaker, Alternate Federal Cochair, Delta Regional Authority (former Mayor of Sikeston, Missouri)

  2. Josh Tubbs, Marshall County Economic Development Department, western Kentucky

  3. Stephanie Vance, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship rural anti-poverty initiative, Lake Providence, Louisiana

  4. Kevin Smith, long-time Delta regional advocate, Helena-West Helena, Arkansas; former aide to US Sen. Dale Bumpers and then Governor Bill Clinton; former state senator

9:30 A.M. TO 9:50 A.M.–PRESENTATION VIA AUDIO SYSTEM FROM SENATOR BLANCHE LINCOLN, ARKANSAS, CHAIR, SENATE AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION AND FORESTRY COMMITTEE

  1. Larry Williams, CEO, Delta Citizens Alliance, based in Greenville, Mississippi, active across Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana

  2. Robert Dansby, CEO, Edgenics Corp., active in expansion of broadband access and community health centers in the Delta region

Dialogue among US Senators and Grassroots Leaders, 10 a.m. to noon

  1. Senator Mark Pryor, Arkansas–10 A.M. 10:15 a.m.

  2. Congressman John Boozman–10:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (invited)

  3. Senator Thad Cochran, Mississippi (introduced by Bill Triplett, Chief of Staff, Delta Regional Authority)–10:30 to 10:45

  4. Senator Mary Landrieu, Louisiana–10:45 to 11 a.m.

  5. Senator Claire McCaskill, Missouri– 11 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

  6. Chancellor Rita Cheng, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois–11:15 a.m. to 11:30

  7. Dr. James Stapleton, Executive Director, Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, Missouri–11:30 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.

  8. Larry Peterson, President, Shawnee Community College, southern Illinois–11:40 a.m. to 11:47 a.m.

USDA SESSION: Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 22, 1:15 to 4:30 p.m., USDA headquarters on the Mall, Room 104-A, The Williamsburg Room, USDA Whitten Building

1:15 to 2:10 p.m.–Overview–USDA Programs for Rural, Economically Distressed Regions like the Delta; Civil rights and diversity, aid for limited resource and minority farmers; farmers’ markets

  1. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration Alma Hobbs
  2. Assistant Secretary for Administration Pearlie Reed (invited)

Delta grassroots leaders

  1. Tamidra Marable, Heifer International’s Program Manager for USA programs, Little Rock, Arkansas–farmers’ markets and nutritious produce

2:10 3:15 p.m.–Hunger and nutrition issues in the Delta

  1. Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Deputy Under Secretary Janey Thornton
  2. Food and Nutrition Services Administrator, Julie Paradis

Delta grassroots leaders

  1. Jerome Turner, USDA Delta regional Obesity Prevention Unit speaker, Marvell, Phillips County, Arkansas
  2. Ed Cooney, Executive Director, Congressional Hunger Center

Brief update from Deputy Administrator Brandon Willis, Farm Services Agency representative on disaster relief for farmers

3:15 to 4:30 p.m.–Rural Development Issues in the Delta

  1. Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Victor Vasquez

  2. David Villano and Jessica Zufolo, Rural Utilities Service–broadband expansion

  3. Joe Belden, National Housing Assistance Council, rural housing issues

  4. Stephen Copley, Arkansas Justice For Our Neighbors; Methodist minister active in outreach for Hispanic population in the Delta

SESSION ON REBUILDING AFTER KATRINA AND THE OIL DISASTER IN THE GULF; RENEWABLE ENERGY Thursday morning, Sept. 23, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., historic sanctuary of the Lutheran Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill near the US Supreme Court, 212 East Capitol

8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.

8:30 to 8:45 a.m.: Congressman Charlie Melancon, Louisiana; Rep. Melancon represents the Louisiana coast and is at the forefront of rebuilding efforts after Katrina and the oil disaster; if he is in Louisiana that morning he will address the group from there over the audio system

8:45 a.m. to 9:10 a.m.–Washington, DC Leaders Who Worked on the Gulf Coast after Katrina–these speakers will talk briefly about their experiences after Katrina: 8:45 to 8:50– Deacon Katherine Miller-Holland, Director, Church and Community Ministries, Coordinator, Lutheran Disaster Response, LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES, of the National Capital Area, Washington, DC (Ms. Holland helped evacuees from Katrina who moved to the Washington, DC area)

8:50 to 8:55–Rev. Tom Knoll, pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church, Washington, DC (Rev. Knoll worked in helping victims of Katrina on the Mississippi coast)

8:55 to 9 a.m.Rev. Greg Wolfe,, Pastor, Seven Locks Baptist Church, Potomac, Maryland (Rev. Wolfe worked in helping Katrina survivors in New Orleans after Katrina)

9 a.m. to 9:05 a.m.–Robert Haslach, Katrina Response Mission Group Coordinator, St. Columba’s Episcopalian Church; lay preacher, Diocese of New Orleans.

9:10 to 9:25–Congressman Joseph Cao, Louisiana (New Orleans)

9:25 a.m. to 10:40 a.m.–Louisiana Leaders in Rebuilding after Katrina and the Oil Disaster:

  1. Children’s Defense Fund Director for Louisiana based in New Orleans–Mary Joseph;

  2. Patty Riddlebarger, Entergy Corp., Director of Corporate Social Responsibiliy, New Orleans, Louisiana

  3. Lutheran Social Services Disaster Response Director, Jessica Vermilyea, New Orleans;

  4. Rev. Dwight Webster, survivor of Hurricane Katrina, senior pastor at Christian Unity Baptist Church, a large, predominantly African American church in central New Orleans; Rev. Webster will be joined by his son, Amir Webster, Howard University student from New Orleans–a young leader who plans to return to New Orleans after graduation;

Disaster Relief, Health Care and other Issues in Long-Term Rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina and the Oil Disaster, 10:45 a.m. to 12:15

  1. Kay Goss, nationally recognized disaster relief expert and former Associate Director of FEMA in the Clinton administration;
  2. Congressman Marion Berry, Arkansas; (invited)
  3. Natalie Jayroe, CEO, Second Harvest Food Bank of New Orleans and Acadiana, Louisiana
  4. James Lee Witt & Associates (James Lee Witt was FEMA Director in the Clinton administration), either James Lee Witt or one of his senior associates;
  5. Darryl Willis, Vice President for Resources, BP corporation, Louisiana 11 a.m.– 5. Thomas Oppel, senior assistant to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, President Obama’s chief of the Gulf Economic Recovery Plan; Mr. Oppel is Secretary Mabus’ chief assistant in charge of the Gulf Coast recovery, formerly was an aide in Mississippi when Ray Mabus was Governor of Mississippi;
  6. James Miller, Managing Director, Community Health House Network, (James Miller has held extensive meetings in Louisiana with local leaders about the Health Houses as a solution to long-term health issues caused by the oil disaster.

Some speakers may be moved to the luncheon time slot, depending on how the timing develops.

LUNCHEON SPEAKERS ON RENEWABLE ENERGY AND OTHER ISSUES–12:15 TO 1:45 P.M.

  1. Dr. Aaron Shirley, medical doctor and civil rights movement pioneer, nonprofit Jackson Medical Mall Foundation in Mississippi, leader of the innovative Community Health House Network initiative that is being organized to deal with the health care problems generated by the oil disaster and its economic devastation for Louisiana;
  2. Ken Smith, Kenneth L. Smith Consulting, Former Assistant Secretary of the Interior, Clinton administration, renewable energy expert;
  3. Under Secretary of Energy Kristina Johnson, (Invited), or Gil Sperling, senior adviser, Department of Energy, speaking about renewable energy policy
  4. Senator Vitter of Louisiana (invited)
  5. Former Congressman Bill Alexander, Arkansas, renewable energy advocate, Alexander & Associates;
  6. Representative from DC Central Kitchen to speak about their work helping people in New Orleans and elsewhere.

APPRECIATION FOR SPONSORS:

The Delta Grassroots Caucus would like to thank the following sponsors for making possible our work in promoting economic progress for the Greater Delta Region:

LEAD SPONSORS

Southeast Missouri Delta Grassroots Partners

Southeast Arkansas Delta Grassroots Partners

Nucor Yamato Steel and Nucor Steel of Arkansas, Blytheville, Arkansas

MAJOR COSPONSORS

Entergy Corporation
National Housing Assistance Council, Washington, DC

McGehee Industrial Foundation

SPONSORS

Southern Illinois University

Murray State University, western Kentucky

Susana Wesley Family Learning Center, East Prairie, Missouri

Great River Economic Development Foundation and City of Blytheville, Arkansas

Desha County Judge Mark McElroy

Dumas, Arkansas Chamber of Commerce

The City of Sikeston, Missouri

The Edgenics Corp., a national company that promotes broadband access in the Delta

American Agriculture Movement of Arkansas

Delta Citizens Alliance, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas

McGehee Housing Authority

Heifer International

Boys, Girls and Adults Community Development Center, Phillips County, Arkansas

The City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Helena National Bank

DELTA GRASSROOTS CAUCUS PARTNERS

Last but not least, we would like to thank the literally hundreds of people who made smaller contributions in the range of $50, $85 and $100 in the form of membership fees, registration fees and other contributions. For a grassroots regional coalition, we need to have a diversified, broad base of financial support from large numbers of relatively small contributions. The large number of these contributions really adds up to a major part of our budget, and we could not do our work without these donations.