FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Heidi Arno, heidi@greatvalley.org (209) 522-5103
Valley Up: Ideas, Innovation, Inspiration
GVC’s Annual Conference
Breakthrough Leaders and Organizations Tell How They Overcame Recession at Great Valley Center Annual Conference in Modesto on May 6 & 7, 2010
Modesto, CA (March 29, 2010)—Facing the most challenging economic environment in our lifetimes, a number of people have found a way to have uncommon success in the Central Valley. They will talk about how they joined together with others to raise up our region at the Great Valley Center’s annual conference May 6 & 7, 2010 at the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto.Under the theme, Valley Up: Ideas, Innovation, Inspiration, presentations and activities will focus on the Central Valley as a region and highlight interests of Central Valley residents including new resources for renewable energy, improving air quality, the role of value added marketing in agriculture, and structuring education and creating jobs of the future.
Among the keynote speakers, Lynda Resnick will tell how research positioned pomegranates grown in the Valley as a health food, and astute marketing made her company’s juice a national sensation, while Luis Santana will reveal the path that caused his Fresno youth literacy program to become a statewide model for at-risk students to excel at reading. Conference attendees will find out what led to the Valley’s cleanest air in decades, and how the gap in broadband access has been significantly narrowed in the last few years, leading to thousands more residents gaining access to the Internet.
The conference keynote and breakout sessions and interactive activities are meant to give attendees a framework of successes and innovative solutions that they can bring back to their own communities. Registration is $315 and includes lunch both days, a networking reception, all conference sessions and a free copy of the newly released book 2020: The Valley in a Decade. Register online now at www.greatvalley.org/conference. For sponsorship and exhibit information contact Heidi Arno at (209) 522-5103 or heidi@greatvalley.org.
The Great Valley Center presents the only regional conference of its kind, highlighting the unique qualities of California’s Central Valley, the 19-county region from Bakersfield to Redding. The conference provides a forum for the discussion of Valley issues as well as a platform for networking with Valley policy makers, elected officials, business leaders and heads of nonprofit and community organizations.
Sponsoring organizations include AT&T, Comcast, KVIE Public Television, the Sacramento Metro Air Quality Management District, Delta Sierra Beverage Company and the Sierra Health Foundation.
About the Great Valley Center
The Great Valley Center is a nonprofit organization working to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of California’s Central Valley, in partnership with the University of California, Merced. www.greatvalley.org
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MERCED – President Jimmy Carter will visit the campus of the University of California, Merced, on May 3 to deliver the keynote address at a National Parks Institute seminar on the management of parks and protected lands, the university announced today.
