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.

Please RSVP Immediately for Late Registration for May 2-3; We Have 165 RSVPs

Posted on April 26, 2013 at 02:30 PM

Please RSVP If You Are Registering Late; We have 165 RSVPs for May 2-3, 2013 Delta Event

Confirmed Speakers Include: Gov. Mike Beebe, Sen. Mark Pryor, Sen. John Boozman, gubernatorial candidate Mike Ross, Rep. Tom Cotton, Former US Rep. and gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson, gubernatorial candidate Curtis Coleman, gubernatorial candidate and former Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, DRA Federal Co-Chairman Chris Masingilll, DRA Alternate Federal Co-Chairman Mike Marshall of Missouri, and Grassroots Leaders from all eight Delta states

We have 165 RSVPs and the number continues to grow. Please RSVP and register ASAP if you would like to be there.

Please RSVP immediately by replying to this email or calling Martha Ellen Black at 573-683-0783.

You register by sending in the registration fees, and you can register at the front desk at the time of the event, but we would greatly prefer to receive them before that to avoid long lines that could delay the program.

Registration and other information are below in this newsletter.

President Bill Clinton is invited and he will be in Little Rock on Friday, May 3. He generally confirms at the last minute and if he speaks at the Clinton Center we will have very little notice and will have to re-arrange the schedule at the last minute and stay flexible.

Friday evening session: Please note that there may be a Friday evening session late in the afternoon or early evening in the time frame from about 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will be some light food there (although most people will have their evening meal after the conference ends) if we do that.

We will take a break late in the afternoon if we do the evening session because we know people would be too tired if we tried to stay all day and into the early evening without a break. Again, please be flexible on the schedule.

THE LATEST FULL DRAFT OF THE AGENDA IS BELOW IN THIS MESSAGE.

SCHEDULE

OPENING SESSION: Thursday evening, May 2, 2013, 4:20 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Clinton School of Public Service.

Thursday evening speakers include gubernatorial candidates Asa Hutchinson and Curtis Coleman; Congressman Tom Cotton; James “Skip” Rutherford, Dean of the Clinton School; former FEMA Associate Director Kay Goss; Author and White House Diarist Janis Kearney; DRA Alternate Federal Co-Chairman Mike Marshall; an energy policy panel led by former US Assistant Secretary of the Interior Ken Smith.

NOTE: THE OPENING SESSION IS AN IMPORTANT SUBSTANTIVE SESSION. WE WILL HAVE FOOD AND DRINKS BUT THIS IS A SUBSTANTIVE SESSION WITH SPEAKERS STARTING PROMPTLY AT 4:30 P.M.

CLINTON LIBRARY SESSION: Friday, May 3, 2013, 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Great Hall of the Clinton Library.

We have a panel on regional economic development beginning at 8:15 a.m.led by “Seeds of Change” partners, Foundation for the Mid-South, Hope Enterprise Corp./Hope Credit Union;

Gov. Mike Beebe is on at 9:40 a.m. followed by Sen. Mark Pryor, Sen. John Boozman, DRA Federal Co-Chairman Chris Masingill, and speakers from Southern BanCorp and Mid-South Delta LISC.

11:30 a.m. through the luncheon–Mike Ross and Bill Halter: Gubernatorial candidate Bill Halter speaks in the late morning, and gubernatorial candidate Mike Ross is right afterward at the luncheon.

In the afternoon we will have two nutrition speakers and then a “big picture” regional economic development panel led by Barrett Harrison, executive director of the Blytheville-Gosnell Regional Airport Authority, and we will close the conference with two excellent speakers on energy policy: Ines Polonius of alt.Consulting and Bill Kopsky of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel.

GROUP HOTEL: To get the group hotel discount rate, please call the Comfort Inn & Suites at the Clinton Library in Little Rock at 501-687-7700 and say you are with the Delta Caucus. Most people will just stay for the night of May 2, because they will check out in the morning and store their luggage at the hotel and come back at the end of the day’s session at the Clinton Library to pick up the luggage.

We do ask for annual dues now, but it is quite small–$25 once a year–although some organizations contribute $50 or $100, $25 once a year per organization is the only requirement we ask for. The dues are only once a year. Registration fees are a separate category for each conference.

YOU REGISTER BY SENDING IN THE REGISTRATION FEES TO THE ADDRESS LISTED BELOW.

If you register late or pay at the front desk, we have to ask for the late registration fees that go up to $150. For those who cannot make the entire conference we can offer some reasonable pro-rating of the registration fees.

Please make out the $150 late registration fees check to “Delta Caucus” and mail to our office in the Washington, DC area:

If you can get a group of five or more we will give a group discount down to $75 each, but please note that you will have to organize the group of five or more.

Delta Caucus

5030 Purslane Place

Waldorf, MD 20601

Caucus Director Lee Powell is working along with bronchitis and has a raspy voice and cough, so for more information either see the website at www.mdgc.us or call Martha Ellen Black at 573-683-0783 or Rep. Mark McElroy at 870-222-8217.

Delta Grassroots Caucus

Rough Draft of Agenda–Subject to Changes

20th Anniversary of the Delta Regional Initiative

May 2-3, 2013, Clinton Presidential Center

OPENING SESSION, THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 2, 2013, 4:15 p.m. to 8 p.m.

University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service

Information tables on display throughout the conference:

Kay Goss’ biography of US Rep. Wilbur Mills, Mr. Chairman, former chairman of the powerful US House of Representatives Ways and Means Community

Janis Kearney’s biography of Daisy Bates, (Daisy: Between a Rock and a Hard Place) famous civil rights leader in the 1957 Little Rock Central High desegregation crisis and throughout the history of the civil rights movement

The Harahan Bridge Project across the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tennessee to West Memphis, Arkansas; an example of Delta Heritage tourism

Information from Maria Baez de Hicks concerning the Hispanic Caucus of Arkansas and the Every Child Is Ours Foundation

Healthy Food Financing Initiative, The Food Trust in Pennsylvania and their colleagues (this project has been a success in Pennsylvania and there are now efforts to expand it into the Delta to aid nutrition in our region)

Opening session hosted by James “Skip” Rutherford, Dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service

4: 30 p.m.–Introduction, Lee Powell, Executive Director, Delta Grassroots Caucus

4: 35.m. to 4:40 p.m.–Maria Baez de Hicks, Vice Chair of Hispanic Caucus

4:40 p.m. to 4:47 p.m.–Janis Kearney, former White House aide, author of a recent book on the civil rights leader Daisy Bates: Daisy: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

4:47 to 4:55 p.m.-Kay Goss, former FEMA Associate Director in the Clinton administration, nationally recognized disaster relief expert

5 p.m. to 5:25 p.m.–Curtis Coleman, candidate for Governor of Arkansas

5:25 to 5:50 p.m. –Asa Hutchinson, former US Representative from Arkansas, attorney, and candidate for Governor

5:50 TO 6:10 P.M.–US Representative Tom Cotton, Fourth District, Arkansas

6:10 TO 6:20 P.M.–Mayor Sheldon Day, Thomasville, Alabama

6:20 to 6:30 p.m.: Mike Marshall, Alternate Federal Co-Chairman of the Delta Regional Authority, Sikeston, Missouri; Delta Regional Authority Federal Co-Chairman Chris Masingill

6:30 to 8 p.m.-ENERGY POLICY: RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY RETROFITS/ENERGY EFFICIENCY

  1. Ken Smith, US Assistant Secretary of the Interior in the Clinton administration, energy policy expert

  2. Keith Canfield, Deputy Director, Clinton Foundation Climate Change Initiative and Home Energy Affordability Loan program

  3. Loretta Daniel, Director, Regional Business and Innovation Center, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky

  4. Sunny Morris, Mid-South Community College, West Memphis, Arkansas

  5. Gary McChesney, Chief Technology Officer of Future Fuels, Inc., Chairman of Arkansas Advanced Energy Initiative

  6. Matt Pelki, University of Arkansas Monticello energy expert

FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2013 SESSION, 8 A.M. TO 3:30 P.M. Great Hall of the Clinton Presidential Library

PLEASE NOTE: PRESIDENT WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON IS INVITED. HE WILL BE IN LITTLE ROCK ON FRIDAY, MAY 3. IF HE SPEAKS TO THE DELTA EVENT, WE WILL ONLY HAVE VERY SHORT NOTICE AND WILL HAVE TO MAKE MAJOR RE-ARRANGEMENTS ON THE SCHEDULE AT THE LAST MINUTE.

OPENING PANEL HIGHLIGHTING BEST PRACTICES AND EXEMPLARY ROLE MODELS FOR THE DELTA: 8:20 to 9:20 a.m.

  1. President Ivye Allen, Foundation for the Mid-South (Headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi, with activities across the region)

  2. Mildred Barnes Griggs, (Speaker and Moderator) Seeds of Change project, east Arkansas

  3. Senchel Matthews, Delta Technical Lead/Social Entrepreneur, Seeds of Change-Heifer International based in Memphis, Tennessee

  4. Ed Sivak, HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corp./Hope Credit Union), a community development financial institution with offices in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee

9:20 a.m. to 9:40 a.m.–Reflections on the Clinton administration Delta Regional Initiative;

Bob Nash, President, Bob J. Nash & Associates, Little Rock, Arkansas; formerly USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development; White House Personnel Director for President Clinton

Lee Powell, Caucus Director, one of four managers for the Clinton administration’s Delta Regional Initiative, chaired for the administration as a whole by US Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater

9:40 a.m. to 10 a.m.–Gov. Mike Beebe

10 a.m.–Senator Mark Pryor

10:20 a.m.–Sen. John Boozman

10:40 a.m. to 11 a.m..–Delta Regional Authority Federal Co-Chairman Chris Masingill

11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.-Karama Neal, Southern Bancorp-summary of Southern BanCorp’s accomplishments on its 25th anniversary since it was founded by then governor Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, and a group of concerned individuals, corporations, private foundations, and government entities formed what is now Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a nonprofit affiliate of Southern Bancorp, Inc.

George Miles, Executive Director, Mid-South Delta Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)(Headquarters in Greenville, Mississippi, with activities across the region); discussing LISC’s $225 million investment in home ownership, job creation, energy efficiency and other activities in the Delta

11;30 a.m. to noon.–Former Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, candidate for Governor

LUNCHEON: Noon to 1:20 P.M.

Former US Rep. Mike Ross, Candidate for Governor

Presentation of Inspire Hope Institute Award Co-Winners:

Clifton Avant, senior executive at Entergy, Inc. for Arkansas, Louisiana and Missisisppi, veteran regional economic development leader, and Board Member Emeritus of the Delta Caucus

Rep. Mark McElroy, who represents Chicot, Desha and part of Ashley County in the Arkansas House of Representatives

Nutrition Issues: 1:20 to 1:35 p.m.

Melissa Rice McGowan, Feeding America Food Bank in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, serving southeast Missouri

Jane Newton, Lincoln County Extension Agent

Big Picture Regional Economic Development panel: 1:35 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. (OR 2 P.M. TO 3:30 P.M.)

  1. Barrett Harrison, Executive Director, Blytheville-Gosnell Regional Airport Authority, and Delta Caucus board member

  2. Heather Maxwell, executive director, Crossroads Coalition

  3. Herb Simmons, Greater Northern Louisiana Community Developent Commission, Jonesboro, Louisiana

  4. Albert Nylander, Director of the McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement, the University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi

  5. Brad Cole, Vice President Pepsi Mid-America, based in Marion, Illinois (doing business in Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas); Delta Caucus board member and former mayor of Carbondale, Illinois

  6. Henry Golatt, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

CLOSING SPEAKERS ON ENERGY POLICY: 2:50 to 3:20 p.m.

Ines Polonius, Executive Director, alt.Consulting, Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Bill Kopsky, Arkansas Public Policy Panel

PLEASE NOTE: WE HAVE RESERVED THE GREAT HALL OF THE CLINTON LIBRARY INTO THE EARLY EVENING FROM 6 P.M. TO 7: P.M. OR SO, IN CASE THAT IS THE TIME PRESIDENT CLINTON CAN SPEAK. WE WILL HAVE TO STAY FLEXIBLE AND ACCOMMODATE HIS VERY HECTIC SCHEDULE.

Delta Caucus Sponsors, May 2-3, 2013, Clinton Center

We would like to express our appreciation to Clifton Avant and Mark McElroy, Co-Winners of the 2013 Inspire Hope Award, for their many years of disnguished service to the Delta’s economic development.

Lead Sponsor

Fed Ex Express, Memphis, Tennessee

Major Co-Sponsors

Heifer International

Housing Assistance Council, Washington, DC

Mississippi County AR Economic Opportunity Commission

City of McGehee and McGehee Industrial Foundation

City of Sikeston, Missouri

Arkansas Trucking Association

University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service

Sponsors

Arkansas Representative Mark McElroy

Blytheville-Gosnell Regional Airport Authority

Writing Our World Publishing Company

AvanTech Services, Marion, Arkansas

BGACDC Agency, Marvell, Arkansas

McGehee Housing Authority

West Tennessee Delta Grassroots Partners

Southeast Missouri Delta Grassroots Partners

Mississippi Delta Partners

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

Entergy Arkasas

Delta Grassroots Caucus Partners

Last but not least, we would like to thank the hundreds of people who made contributions in the range of $125, $100, $50 or $25 in the form of annual membership dues, registration fees, and other contributions. For a grassroots regional coalition, we need to have a diversified, borad base of financial support from large numbers of relatively modest 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.