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.

Agenda, Deadlines for Sept. 15-16, Delta Conference in Washington, DC

Posted on August 24, 2009 at 10:35 AM

A draft of the agenda for the Delta Grassroots Caucus annual conference in Washington, DC on Sept. 15-16, 2009 is below, along with detailed information about the schedule, deadlines, registration, group hotel and other information. We currently have 12 Members of Congress, several high-level executive branch officials, and 106 RSVPs for this conference. The early registration deadline is today and the deadline for staying at the group hotel is next Monday, August 31, although that will be extended until Tuesday, September 1, close of business. Group hotel and registration information are below in this email.

We have 106 RSVPs, 12 Members of Congress from both parties, Obama administration appointees at USDA, and a health care spokesperson from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ office to present the administration’s views on health care reform for the Sept. 15-16 Delta conference. Participants from both parties and all points of view will be included, and we want to have a congenial dialogue where all points of view on economic progress in the Greater Delta Region, of course including health care, will be addressed in a thoughtful, civil setting.

If you have questions please call Desha County Judge Mark McElroy at (870) 877-2426, or Dr. Martha Ellen Black at (573) 649-3731. All the information about the conference is in this message.

In this message you will find:

1) KEY SPEAKERS

2) REGISTRATION (EARLY REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS TODAY, AUGUST 24)

3) GROUP HOTEL

4) SCHEDULE IN A NUTSHELL

5) DRAFT OF AGENDA, SPEAKERS AND TIMES

Key speakers include Members of Congress from both parties:

Rep. Mike Ross (AR), Rep. Jerry Costello (IL), Rep. Marion Berry (AR), the HHS representative, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO), Sen. Thad Cochran (MS), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (AR), Sen. Mark Pryor (AR), Sen. Mary Landrieu (LA), Rep. Artur Davis (AL), Rep. Charles Melancon (LA), Rep. Travis Childers (MS), and Rep. Joseph Cao (LA).

National executive branch officials who will be speaking include USDA Under Secretary for Administration Pearlie Reed, USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Victor Vasquez, and other Obama administration officials.

DEADLINE ON EARLY REGISTRATION:

The early registration fee deadline is today, August 24, 2009. The early registration fee is $85. After August 24, the registrations increase to $100. We do not want the extra $15, we are just trying to create some incentive for people to get the fees in early. We have bills coming due right before the conference. Moreover, it creates logjams and slows things up at the conference if we have a lot of people waiting in line to pay the fees at the door.

If you get the registration fee in the mail shortly after receiving this message, the $85 amount will be fine. The August 24 deadline will be flexibly interpreted, but we do need the registration fees on time.

Registration. You register by sending in the registration fee.

Please make out the $85 early registration fee check to “Delta Grassroots Caucus” by August 24, 2009, and mail the check to:

Delta Grassroots Caucus

(Attention: Lee Powell)

5030 Purslane Place

Waldorf, MD 20601

After August 24 the registration fee is $100.

GROUP HOTEL:

If you wish to stay at the group hotel, that deadline is one week away on August 31.

You can get the group hotel and be assured of a room there if you call by August 31, and the hotel has agreed to accept reservations as late as September 1, Tuesday. After that there will probably not be any space left, and if there is you will not get the cheaper group rate of $229.

You get the group rate by calling the Radisson at Reagan National Airport at (703) 920-8600 and telling them that you are with the Delta Caucus for the night of September 15, 2009. You will only need one hotel night to take part in all the group sessions, because you can check out on the morning of Sept. 16, leave your luggage at the hotel, go to the Senate and USDA sessions that afternoon that will end about 4:15 p.m., and then go back to your hotel and pick up your luggage and take a flight back home that evening.

Some people are staying on until Thursday to do extra advocacy for the Delta on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Sept. 16. We shortened the conference somewhat because we know many people are suffering financially from the recession and we wanted to make the conference less expensive to attend this year.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO STAY AT THE GROUP HOTEL IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO, BECAUSE THERE ARE NO MEETINGS AT THE GROUP HOTEL. THIS IS THERE STRICTLY BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE HAVE FOUND THIS HOTEL TO MEET THEIR NEEDS IN THE PAST.

SCHEDULE IN A NUTSHELL

SCHEDULE: OPENING SESSION, TUESDAY EVENING, SEPT. 15, 5 P.M. TO 8 P.M., B-339 RAYBURN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BUILDING

SENATE SESSION: WEDNESDAY MORNING, SEPT. 16, 8:30 A.M. TO NOON, SENATE DIRKSEN BUILDING, ROOM SD G11, GROUND FLOOR

USDA SESSION: WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, SEPT. 16, 1:15 TO 4:15 P.M., ROOM 104-A, USDA WHITTEN BUILDING ON THE NATIONAL MALL

AGENDA

OPENING SESSION, 5 P.M. TO 8 P.M., TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009

B-339 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING

5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.—Reception

5:30 - 8 P.M.–OPENING SPEAKERS ON HEALTH CARE ISSUES IN THE DELTA AND OTHER ISSUES REGARDING ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND THE REGION’S DEVELOPMENT

Introduction—Lee Powell, Director, Delta Grassroots Caucus

FEDERAL LEVEL SPEAKERS:

  1. Congressman Jerry Costello, southern Illinois

  2. Congressman Mike Ross, Arkansas

  3. Congressman Marion Berry, Arkansas

  4. Health Care Reform representative, office of Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius

(All speakers are important, but US Representatives Costello, Ross and Berry and the HHS spokesperson will be given more time because of their key roles on health care and other major issues regarding the Delta)

  1. Congressman Travis Childers, Mississippi

  2. Congressman Charles Melancon, Louisiana

  3. Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson, Missouri

  4. Congressman Joseph Cao, Louisiana (New Orleans—Rep. Cao requested only a brief time to introduce himself to the group and make a few brief comments—he is the freshman Congressman from New Orleans and we are glad to welcome him to our event for the first time)

DELTA GRASSROOTS SPEAKERS

–Mayor Helenor Bell, Hayneville, Alabama

–Desha County Judge Mark McElroy

–Mayor Brad Cole, Carbondale, Illinois

SENATE SESSION, SEPTEMBER 16, WEDNESDAY MORNING, 8:30 A.M. TO Noon, Senate Dirksen building, ground floor, Room SD G-11

8:30 TO 10 A.M.

BIG-PICTURE PANEL ON REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

  1. Johnnie Bolin, Moderator, executive director, Arkansas Good Roads Transportation Council

  2. Bill Triplett, senior adviser, Delta Regional Authority

  3. Dr. Robert Dansby, President, Edgenics Corp., a national company active in expanding broadband access, promoting educational opportunity and supporting telemedicine in the Delta

  4. Dr. Tim Todd, Dean, College of Business and Public Affairs, Murray State University (active in expansion of broadband access, promotion of greater use of alternative fuels, and a variety of other economic innovations in western Kentucky)

  5. Alan Branson, Executive Vice President for Programs and Chief Operating Officer, Enterprise Corporation of the Delta/HOPE Community Credit Union (based in Jackson, Mississippi, a major nonprofit foundation serving Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi)

10 A.M TO 11 A.M.—US Senators from Arkansas and Mississippi

  1. Senator Mark Pryor, Arkansas—10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

10:15 to 10:25 a.m.–2. Chris Masingill, Aide to Gov. Mike Beebe in charge of stimulus funding and other economic development initiatives, and DRA Alternate for Arkansas

  1. Senator Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas—10:25 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

4.Senator Thad Cochran, Mississippi—10:45 a.m. to 11 a.m.

11 a.m. TO NOON—Sen. Landrieu, and Rev. Webster from Louisiana; President Glenn Poshard of Southern Illinois University; and Rep. Artur Davis

  1. Senator Mary Landrieu, Louisiana

  2. Rev. Dwight Webster, New Orleans, Louisiana, Pastor, Christian Unity Baptist Church, –Rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina

  3. President Glenn Poshard, Southern Illinois University

  4. Rep. Artur Davis, ALABAMA

USDA SESSION, SEPTEMBER 16, WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, ROOM 104-A USDA WHITTEN BUILDING, 1:15 P.M. TO 4:15 P.M.

Under Secretary for USDA Administration Pearlie Reed (Under Secretary Reed will give an overview of his activities that are relevant for our region; small farmers and sustainability, diversity, support for biomass and other initiatives are among areas of interest. The Under Secretary is originally from the east Arkansas Delta and is widely admired by many partners in our coalition)

NUTRITION

1. Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon

DELTA GRASSROOTS SPEAKERS

  1. Dr. Steve Onufrak, USDA expert on nutrition and obesity prevention issues in the Delta based in Stoneville, Mississippi

  2. Charita Johnson Burgess, Shiloh Distribution Center, a nonprofit that works on nutrition and other issues in western Tennessee, western Kentucky, and northern Mississippi

  3. Michael Ashanti, Heifer International in Helena-West Helena, Arkansas will discuss Heifer International’s activities in the Delta.

There will be presentations from these speakers and then discussion.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

  1. Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Victor Vasquez

  2. Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service Jonathan Adelstein (Invited), or another high-level RUS will speak about expansion of broadband to underserved areas in the Delta.

DELTA GRASSROOTS LEADERS

  1. Buddy Spillers, President, Macon Ridge Community Development Corp., Ferriday, Louisiana

  2. Donna Raynalds, executive director, Southern Illinois Delta Empowerment Zone, Cairo, Illinois

  3. Robert Cole, East Arkansas Enterprise Community, Forrest City, Arkansas

MORE INFORMATION ON SPEAKERS

Featuring Rep. Mike Ross (AR), leader of the Blue Dog Democrats on health care; Rep. Jerry Costello (IL), a senior Member of Congress from southern Illinois; Rep. Marion Berry (AR), a senior Member of the Appropriations Committee, pharmacist, and another leader of the Blue Dogs; HHS health care spokesperson from the Obama administration to discuss health care reform; Rep. Charles Melancon (LA), representing a southern Louisiana district; Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO), a distinguished Republican Congresswoman from southeast Missouri who is widely respected on both sides of the aisle; Rep. Joseph Cao,(LA), a new Republican Representative who represents New Orleans; Rep. Travis Childers, a new Democratic Representative from Mississippi.

Grassroots speakers that evening will also include Mayor Helenor Bell of Hayneville, Alabama, who has a success story to tell about a DRA mobile health care unit that was of great assistance to her community; Desha County Judge Mark McElroy; and Mayor Brad Cole of Carbondale, Illinois.

Speakers include Sen. Blanche Lincoln (AR), who is from Helena-West Helena in the heart of the Delta and is a member of the powerful Finance Committee; Sen. Mark Pryor (AR), who is rising in clout on Capitol Hill and a member of the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Thad Cochran (LA), a very distinguished Republican who is admired on both sides of the aisle and is senior ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Mary Landrieu (LA), another member of the Appropriations Committee and a leader in the effort to reform FEMA after Hurricane Katrina;, and Rep. Artur Davis (AL), an eloquent Harvard Law graduate from Alabama who was an early and staunch supporter of President Obama.

We are glad to have Chris Masingill, key aide to Gov. Mike Beebe of Arkansas on economic stimulus implementation and other key issues and DRA Alternate for the state of Arkansas; Dr. Tim Todd, Dean of the Business School of Murray State University in western Kentucky, who works on a wide range of innovations including greater use of renewable energy and expanded broadband access; Bill Triplett, senior adviser to the Delta Regional Authority; Dr. Bob Dansby, president of the Eugenics Corp., which works on broadband access and telemedicine; and Alan Branson, Chief Operating Officer of Enterprise Corporation of the Delta/Hope Community Credit Union, one of the most dynamic nonprofit foundations operating across Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana. Mr. Branson will cover a number of issues, including the New Markets Tax Credit. Moderator for the “big picture” economic development panel that starts out the Senate session on Wednesday morning, Sept. 16 is Johnnie Bolin of Crossett in southeast Arkansas, executive director of the Arkansas Good Roads Transportation Council and one of the leading transportation experts in the Delta.

We are honored to have President Glenn Poshard, Southern Illinois University, who is a former Member of Congress and a friend of President Obama; Rev. Dwight Webster, distinguished scholar and pastor of Christian Unity Baptist Church in New Orleans, with many parishioners from the Ninth Ward, Gentilly and other areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina–Rev. Webster is himself a Katrina victim and survivor and is just now getting back into his home that was flooded by Katrina.

For the USDA session, we have invited Under Secretary for Administration Pearlie Reed, highest ranking Arkansan in the Obama administration and a native of the east Arkansas Delta who is widely admired in our group.

We have confirmations from Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon, President Obama’s appointee who heads up the huge mission area of USDA that handles federal nutrition programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly food stamps, school lunch and other school meals, Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition programs and other nutrition programs.

We also have a confirmation from Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Victor Vasquez, who many of you will remember from his role in supporting the Clinton administration’s Delta Regional Initiative when he was head of the national Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community program at USDA under President Clinton.

Grassroots speakers at the USDA session will include:

Donna Raynalds, executive director, Southern Illinois Delta Empowerment Zone

Dr. Robert Cole, East Arkansas Enterprise Community, based in Forrest City;

Mike Ashanti, Heifer International, Helena-West Helena, who leads the innovative activities of the Heifer nonprofit foundation in the Delta;

Dr. Steve Onufrak, a USDA nutrition and anti-obesity expert based in Stoneville, Mississippi;

Buddy Spillers, president of the Macon Ridge Community Development Corp. in Ferriday, Louisiana;

Dr. LaDonna Ford, Medical Director of the LSU Medical Center in Monroe, Louisiana;

Charita Johnson Burgess and Vivian Fry of the Shiloh Distribution Center in western Tennessee.

We will have several Obama administration officials from USDA and other departments, and we look forward to having our first public dialogue with the new administration as a regional group. We certainly have many supporters of President Obama in our coalition, but we need to place constructive pressure on them to get the Delta region higher on their radar screen.

Please keep in mind that the Wednesday afternoon session is with Obama administration officials and is very important, so schedule a flight that evening that will enable you to stay for that session until 4 p.m.

We also have a group of rooms available for Wednesday, Sept. 16, for those who plan to stay over and do some additional advocacy work on Capitol Hill or the administration on Thursday morning, Sept. 17.

Many people have felt the Radisson at Reagan Airport is a convenient location because it is near the airport and is a fairly short taxi ride away from Capitol Hill. For those not familiar with Washington, DC hotel costs, the rate cited above is much lower than most that are close to Capitol Hill.

GROUPS OF TAXI CABS TO GO TO MEETINGS:

We will go over to the meetings from the hotel in groups of taxis as we have in previous years. This substantially reduces your cab fare if you go in groups of three or four and is the fastest way to get around in DC.

If you prefer to stay at another hotel, that is perfectly fine. There are no meetings at the group hotel.

TRAVEL AGENCY–Travel Consultants International, Becky Hawkins, Blytheville, Arkansas, 1-800-764-7660:

Most people make their own travel plans, but if you need a travel agent, we highly recommend Travel Consultants International, an excellent agency based in Blytheville, Arkansas, led by Becky Hawkins. Phone is 1-800-764-7660 and her email is becky@travelconsultantsintl.com. If you do not want to stay at the group hotel and would like to look for another hotel for whatever reason, Becky Hawkins and staff can help you with that. They are also good at finding cheaper airfares for people. Based on previous experience we know Becky Hawkins and Travel Consultants International do a great job.

Thanks very much. Lee Powell, director, MDGC (202) 360-6347