Overview

2019 Annual Training Conference

Reimagining Regional Development: Building Capacity, Building Regions

October 19 - 22 | Peppermill Resort Hotel | Reno, Nevada

Visit the Agenda & Presentations page to see the most recent agenda. It will be updated regularly.

What's new?

• Conference registration is open!
• Scholarships are available for EDDs and Tribal planning grantees located in the EDA Seattle Region...click here for details.
• Our conference registration process!  Click Registration on the left side of this page and register online.  Our new database has streamlined the system in many ways, and you will find it is much more user-friendly than our previous registration platform.
• For the 1st time we will offer a "NADO 101" hour during the conference...meet the staff and learn about our programs and services!
• Opening plenary presentation with Becky McCray and Deb Brown from SaveYour.Town will look at the positive benefits that being open to new ideas has on your community's prosperity.
• Plenary presentation with author and former politician Doug Griffiths who will share 13 sure-fire ways to kill a community—inadequate internet, unsafe drinking water, lack of services and amenities for youth to remain and retires to return and so on—as he how communities can identify and overcome challenges that prohibit their ability to become thriving, sustainable and desirable.
• Five Mobile Workshops have been confirmed, click Agenda & Presentations on the left side of this page for details:
  • Reinventing Reno's Midtown District Walking Tour
  • Western Nevada Brownfields Road Trip
  • Peppermill Wins Big Betting on Geothermal Energy
  • An Industrial Park Like no Other: A Visit to the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center
  • Fostering Entrepreneurship and Forging Partnerships: A Visit to the Reno Innevation Center
• Four Learning Labs have been scheduled and 1 or 2 more are in the works!  Click Agenda & Presentations on the left side of this page for details:
  • Leadership Training for New Executive Directors
  • Filling Empty Buildings
  • Moving in the Right Direction: The Latest Trends in CEDS Planning
  • Rural Jobs Creation Strategies and Innovative Rural Business Models

• Visit this page again soon for conference information.

Questions?: Contact Laurie Thompson, Deputy Executive Director at 202-624-5948 or [email protected]

Registration

2019 Annual Training Conference

Reimagining Regional Development: Building Capacity, Building Regions

October 19 - 22 | Peppermill Resort Hotel | Reno, Nevada

Registration fees for the 2019 Annual Training Conference are:

Early bird rate (deadline is Friday, October 4th, 2019; after that rates will increase) 

• $620 – Associate and General
• $595 – Sustaining and Sustaining Associate
• $570 – Platinum and Platinum Plus
• $760 – Non-member
• $235 – Spouses
• $100 – Student

Regular rate (register by Friday, October 4th, 2019 and save on your registration fee!)

• $640 – Associate and General
• $615 – Sustaining and Sustaining Associate
• $590 – Platinum and Platinum Plus
• $780 – Non-member
• $255 – Spouses
• $100 – Student

Complimentary Guest Registrations - available only to selected Memberships

• Sustaining Associate Members - 1 free Complimentary Guest Registration
• Sustaining Members - 3 free Complimentary Guest Registrations
• Platinum and Platinum Plus Members - 6 free Complimentary Guest Registrations

Registration cancellation policy: We will refund your registration fees, minus an administrative fee of $50, upon receipt of a written request, up to Friday, October 11, 2019.

If you are already familiar with our Registration process, please click HERE and the link will take you through the step-by-step registration for the event.

If you need some guidance, please click on This Instruction Manual and the guide will assist you with the registration process.

To register online, click HERE

If you have other questions or problems with our new registration page, please contact Vy Dang at [email protected] or 202.624.7841.

If you wish to pay by check, please mail your payment to:

NADO
400 North Capitol St NW Suite 388
Washington, DC 20001

PLEASE NOTE: You must be registered for the conference to attend a mobile workshop or learning lab.

Agenda & Presentations

 

Updated September 11, 2019

Friday, October 18                  

3:00 – 5:00 p.m.                          
Conference Registration

Saturday, October 19

9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.                  
Conference Registration

10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.                  
Leadership Training for New Executive Directors
This session is designed specifically for new executive directors, or those who will become executive directors in the next few years. This special, hands-on workshop will blend case studies from executive directors across the spectrum—completely new to the position to recently announcing retirement—and skills training, providing attendees with practical lessons learned from their peers and with new skills that will enable them to be effective executive directors. If you are wondering what defines “new?”, we leave that up to you, but we generally consider new directors as having been in the position for up to three years as well as those in direct line to become executive director. In previous years, this session has also been attended by those who have been on the job longer but wanted a refresher.  Lunch will be provided. Pre-registration required; additional fee of $75 to attend.

1:30 – 4:00 p.m.  
Mobile Workshop: Reinventing Reno’s Midtown District Walking Tour
Take a walk through the emerging Midtown District and see how this area has changed over the past 100 years from a quiet country road lined with large homes to a bustling business district. The Midtown area has continually reinvented itself to adapt to the changing needs of the city. Learn about the exciting businesses and people that once occupied the buildings and what the future holds for this redeveloping area of Reno. Limited to 25 participants; pre-registration required. Additional fee of $35.

1:30 - 4:00 p.m.                 
Concurrent Learning Labs
Filling Empty Buildings
Your town has too many empty buildings and filling those empty buildings would boost the prosperity of your town: more businesses, more activity downtown, more for visitors to do, more people with jobs. So how do you do that in a small rural town, even when the building owners are a real pain? Even when buildings are in bad shape? Even when no one knows what business to start? Learn a dozen ideas tested in real small towns, including the Tour of Empty Buildings, shared spaces, pop-ups, and even figuring out the real reasons buildings always seem to stay empty so you can keep them filled.  Pre-registration is required; $35 additional fee to attend.
Deb Brown, Co-founder, SaveYour.Town, Webster City, Iowa

Moving in the Right Direction:  The Latest Trends in CEDS Planning
The release of the CEDS Content Guidelines in 2015 ushered in a new era for planning, designing, and implementing the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. Through the Guidelines, the US Economic Development Administration has empowered regions to take local ownership of the CEDS process and think creatively about regional economic development. This interactive session will include presentations on the latest trends in CEDS planning to emerge over the past several years and small group conversations for participants to learn from each other about best practices and replicable approaches.
Pre-registration is required; $25 additional fee to attend.

2:00 – 4:00 p.m.                          
NADO Research Foundation Advisory Committee Meeting

4:00 – 5:00 p.m.                          
NADO 101: Get to Know Your Organization
Are you a new NADO member?  Is this your first time at a NADO Annual Training Conference?  Are you interested in a quick overview of NADO and the NADO Research Foundation?  Are you not yet a NADO member but interested in learning more about membership benefits?  Then NADO 101 is the place for you!  Over the course of an hour, you will learn about NADO's governance and structure, key programs, meet staff and learn about the benefits of membership.

5:00 – 6:30 p.m.                          
NADO Board of Directors Reception for New Board Members, New NADO Members and New Executive Directors

Sunday, October 20

7:30 - 9:00 a.m.
SERDI Council of Peers Breakfast Meeting

8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Conference Registration

8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Mobile Workshop
Western Nevada Redevelopment Road Trip
On this day-long mobile workshop, join staff from the Center for Creative Land Recycling and local and state partners for a tour of exemplary brownfields projects in Western Nevada.  The tour will travel south from Reno making stops in Carson City, Minden, and Gardnerville to visit a mix of sites including a gas station redeveloped into a community meeting facility, a former bank building transformed into a modern office space, and flour mill turned distillery.  The tour will include lunch. 
Limited to 30 participants; pre-registration required. Additional fee of $50.

9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
NADO Research Foundation Board & Executive Committee Meetings

1:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Learning Lab
Getting the Most Out of StatsAmerica: A Training and Feedback Session
Since 2008, the goal of StatsAmerica has been to provide actionable data for economic developers and planners to use in site requests, developing metrics, grant writing, and strategic planning. Bring your laptop or tablet along to participate in demonstrations of the various tools available from StatsAmerica to support your planning efforts, including the Measuring Distress Tool, Big Radius Tool, the Innovation Index 2.0, and the CEDS Resource Library. This session will also provide the opportunity to provide feedback on the StatsAmerica tools and share what additional data and resources you would like to see to support your regional economic development and planning efforts. Pre-registration required; additional fee of $25 to attend.
Timothy Slaper, Co-Director, Indiana Business Research Center, Bloomington, IN      

2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Learning Lab
Rural Jobs Creation Strategies and Innovative Rural Business Models Jobs are changing, and the very nature of work is changing. That means jobs creation is changing, too. Learn ways small towns are connecting their small businesses and would-be entrepreneurs with the support and network they need to be successful and create jobs. Learn about business resource nights, networking events, backroom tours, and online courses you can take together. You’ll hear about actual small towns who are using these techniques right now to make entrepreneurship self-sustaining. Pre-registration required; additional fee of $35 to attend.
Becky McCray, Co-founder, SaveYour.Town, Alva, Oklahoma

3:45 – 5:15 p.m.
Membership Regional Caucus Meetings
All NADO members are encouraged to attend their regional caucus meetings to learn about NADO's governance structure, talk with your peers about particular challenges and opportunities in your regions, and build on your professional networks.

5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Opening Reception

Monday, October 21

7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.                  
Conference Registration

7:30 – 8:15 a.m.                           
DDAA Breakfast

8:30 – 10:00 a.m.                        
Opening Plenary: Becoming an Idea Friendly Community
Which communities will survive into the future? Advances in agriculture, energy and fuels, manufacturing, and more all mean changes to jobs, economic development, and tax revenues. Given the certainty of change in our globalized future, it’s time to start making your community - rural or urban - more Idea Friendly. Learn the three practical ways to improve the climate for new ideas, and position your community to thrive, no matter what the future brings. Becky McCray, Co-founder, SaveYour.Town, Alva, OK

10:00 – 10:15 a.m.                      
Networking Break

10:15 – 11:45 a.m. 
Mobile Workshop
Peppermill Wins Big Betting on Geothermal Energy
Since 2010 the Peppermill has tapped into a huge reservoir of natural geothermal activity located almost a mile underneath the hotel and casino to heat its pools, hot tubs, and guest room showers, and power the hotel’s mechanical systems.  The result: saving more than $2.2 million in annual natural gas bills and reducing their carbon footprint by 12,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions every year.  The workshop will explore the hotel’s geothermal system and attendees will learn how the hotel and casino are employing energy efficient practices throughout the facility.
Limited to 25 participants; pre-registration is required. Additional fee of $15.

10:15 – 11:45 a.m.                      
Concurrent Sessions and Conversation Café

10:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.            
NADO Executive Committee Meeting with EDA Leadership

12:00 – 1:30 p.m.                         
Plenary Luncheon

1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Mobile Workshop
An Industrial Park Like No Other:  A Visit to the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center
The Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRI) is the largest industrial park in the world with over 15,000 acres pre-zoned, fully entitled, and in active development. Not only is Tesla Gigafactory 1 located there, but many of the foremost tech companies in the world, such as Blockchains, Google, Jet.com, and Switch have recognized the unique location, development, and business benefits of this park.  On this tour, learn more about the past, present, and future of TRI as well as more about the companies that call this unique place home.   Pre-registration required; additional fee of $25 to attend.

1:45 – 3:15 p.m.                          
Concurrent Sessions and Conversation Café

3:15 – 3:30 p.m.                          
Networking Break

3:30 – 4:30 p.m.                          
Concurrent Sessions and Conversation Café

3:30 – 5:00 p.m.                          
Nominating Committee

5:00 – 6:30 p.m.                          
Impact Awards Reception

Tuesday, October 22

8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.                  
Conference Registration

9:00 – 10:15 a.m.                        
Plenary Session: 13 Ways to Kill Your Community
Author and former politician Doug Griffiths examines sure-fire ways to kill a community—inadequate internet, unsafe drinking water, lack of services and amenities for youth to remain and retires to return and so on—as he works with communities to identify and overcome challenges that prohibit their ability to become thriving, sustainable and desirable.

10:15 – 10:30 a.m.                      
Networking Break

10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
Concurrent Sessions

10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Mobile Workshop
Fostering Entrepreneurship and Forging Partnerships:  A Visit to the Reno Innevation Center
The University of Nevada, Reno Innevation Center is designed to empower Nevada’s next generation of economic leaders by igniting the creative and entrepreneurial spirits in University of Nevada, Reno students, faculty, community creatives, makers, economic developers, and emerging global tech companies.  On this tour, learn more about this facility which offers co-working areas, a Makerspace, conference rooms, open and closed door offices for rent, and access to business mentorship and networking opportunities.
Limited to 30 participants; pre-registration required. Additional fee of $25.

12:20 – 1:30 p.m.                        
Lunch on Your Own

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.                          
Closing Plenary Session

2:30 – 2:45 p.m.                          
Networking Break

2:45 – 5:15 p.m.                          
Annual Business Meeting
NADO Board of Directors Meeting
All NADO members are encouraged to attend the Annual Business Meeting and the NADO Board of Directors Meeting.  Both are a great way to learn more about NADO's governance structure and key program areas, as well as learn about our current policy work on your behalf on Capitol Hill.

5:15 – 6:15 p.m.                          
Impact Award Photo Session

6:30 – 7:00 p.m.                          
Reception / Cash Bar

7:00 – 8:30 p.m.                          
President’s Award Dinner
All conference attendees are encouraged to attend this dinner as the 2019 President's Award will be presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to regionalism.

Travel & Venue

Sponsors & Exhibitors