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.

Preliminary Agenda for Delta Caucus Meeting in Little Rock, Nov. 16-17, 2023

Posted on October 27, 2023 at 12:40 PM

We are sending a preliminary draft of the agenda for the Delta Caucus meeting at Comfort Inn Presidential Dean/MacArthur Room in Little Rock on Nov. 16-17, 2023.

It is a challenge to get people back in the habit of going to in-person meetings–except for those with only a few people–after the hiatus caused by the height of the pandemic. This is a medium-sized group of about 40 people.

This meeting should be a good springboard to getting back to larger-scale meetings in the 75 to 90 person range next year.

There will inevitably be a few minor changes to this list of speakers in the last few weeks before the meeting.

Thanks–Delta Caucus

Delta Grassroots Caucus

Agenda

Nov. 16-17, 2023 Meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas

Comfort Inn Presidential Dean/MacArthur Room

Opening Session, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.–Substantive Session; then informal networking and dinner, 7 p.m. to 7:50 p.m. or so

5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.–Hunger, Nutrition and Smaller-Scale Farmers

Lee Powell, Director, Delta Grassroots Caucus

Dorothy Grady Scarbrough, Mississippians Engaged in Greener Agriculture (MEGA), Shelby, Mississippi

Heather Coller, Engagement Coordinator, Southeast Missouri Food Bank, Sikeston, Missouri

Mayor T. Butler of Eudora, Arkansas and Johnny Pettis, in-door, year-round fresh produce project

6 p.m. to 6:10 p.m.–Joyce Elliott, Director of Get Loud Arkansas nonprofit and former senator, speaking about the LEARNS act and its impact on education in Arkansas

6 p.m. to 7 p.m.–Best Practices/Nonprofits in the Greater Delta

Michelle Monse, King Foundation, operating in Arkansas and Texas

Angela Scott, Memphis Inter-Faith Association (MIFA) based in Memphis, Tennessee

Joel Evans, Delta Area Economic Opportunity Commission, based in Sikeston, Missouri

Fredric Smith, East Arkansas Enterprise Community, based in Forrest City, Arkansas

Billy McFarland, TSP Police Support League, Alabama

7 p.m. to 8 p.m.–informal networking dinner at Comfort Inn Presidential Dean/MacArthur Room

Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, 9 a.m. to noon

9 a.m. to 9:50 a.m.–Economic Development from Viewpoint of Local Elected Officials in the Delta

Mayor Chuck Espy, Clarksdale, Mississippi

Mayor Jaylen Smith of Earle, Arkansas

Mayor Ora Stevens, Marianna, Arkansas

Mayor Melisa Logan, Blytheville, Arkansas

Mississippi County Judge John Alan Nelson

9:50 a.m. to 10:05 a.m.–Delta Heritage Tourism: The Sultana Steamboat Museum in Marion, Arkansas

John Fogleman, Attorney and Supporter of the Sultana Museum

10:05 a.m. to 10:35 a.m.–Long-Term Perspectives on the Growth of the Delta Regional Authority

Lee Powell and Wilson Golden, Presidential Appointees in the Clinton Administration; managers of President Clinton’s Delta Regional Initiative along with the late Al Eisenberg

Mike Marshall, former Alternate Federal Co-Chairman of the Delta Regional Authority

10;35—10:50 a.m.–former Gov. JIm Folsom, Jr., of Alabama, on economic development for the Delta and Alabama Black Belt

10:50 a.m. to noon–Education and Workforce Development in the Greater Delta

Cody Behles, Director of Innovation and Research Development, University of Memphis

President Chris Heigel and Vice President Blanche Hunt, Arkansas Northeastern College

Herb Simmons, Professor Emeritus of Grambling University, author of Got Two Wings, a memoir of a son of Louisiana who grew up in the Jim Crow South and became a successful attorney and author

Brian Schweiger, National Park Service Little Rock Central High Historic Site

Ali Noland, attorney who filed lawsuit against Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ LEARNS education act in Arkansas