[WEC-All] Last chance to register for June 11 conference!

[Rob Zako]

Dear West Eugene Collaborative members and other interested parties,

If you have not already done so, there is still time to preregister for the
Lane County Moving Forward together conference:

Lane County 
MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER
Expanding Housing, Economic and Transportation Choices

Wednesday, June 11, 2008
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Hilton Eugene & Conference Center
66 East 6th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon

http://movingforwardtogether.net/register

(Walk-ins on the day of the event are welcome, but preregistering will help
the HIlton have enough chairs and food.)

Here¹s what Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and Eugene Association of REALTORS
President Marie Due had to say in a Register-Guard guest viewpoint last
week:

> Challenges offer opportunities for people to talk and work together, and to do
> things better and smarter. We in Lane County have the opportunity to choose
> how we manage the challenges confronting us. ... At an all-day conference on
> Wednesday in Eugene, we in Lane County can learn from REALTORS® and other
> experts from across the state and nation about ways to grow better and
> smarter. ... Old and new challenges could affect our quality of life in Lane
> County. Join us in seeking common ground for moving forward together.

And this from ³Slant² in the latest Eugene Weekly:

> Isn't "smart growth" an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms? After all, even at
> 1 percent growth, population will double in one lifetime (72 years) and
> quadruple in two lifetimes, and how can that be sustainable? So when we heard
> about the "Moving Forward Together" conference on "smart growth" ... we were
> skeptical. A few years ago we would have expected the same old line of
> thinking from a gathering of real estate brokers, local officials and state
> transportation "experts." But today's realities of climate change, peak oil,
> pollution and changing traffic patterns are gradually altering conventional
> attitudes. ... Old attitudes die hard in the real estate, transportation and
> construction industries, but change is afoot, and this conference offers a
> glimpse into the future.

Indeed, expect to hear:

* West Eugene Collaborative facilitators Dennis Donald and John Huyler from
The Osprey Group in Colorado talk about "Collaboration: Why bother?"

* Regional planning expert John Fregonese talk about ³Vision without action
is hallucination: Charting a course for Lane County.²

* Bob McNamara from the National Association of REALTORS and developer Skip
Rotticci from Oregon talk about "The future ain't what it used to be: The
changing nature of development."

* Economists Joe Cortright and Terry Moore talk about "What do high gas
prices mean for housing markets?"

* And Big Look Task Force member Steve Clark and Reid Ewing of the National
Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland talk about ³Pieciing
together the puzzle: Land use, transportation, climate change and everything
else.²

We will also hear from former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, and at
least one surprise is planned for the day.

For the full program, visit:
http://movingforwardtogether.net/program

A similar all-day program in a big city like Portland would easily run into
the hundreds of dollars. Here in Lane County, we are offering the day for
only $35.

So what are you waiting for? Space is still available. But a similar
opportunity won¹t come along in Lane County for years.

For Moving Forward Together,
Rob

-- 
Rob Zako
rzako at efn.org
(541) 343-5201 (voice)
(541) 683-6333 (fax)
1280-B East 28th Ave., Eugene, OR 97403-1616

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