Tennessee-Tombigbee Development Conference Set For August 21-23
Leaders and operators of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway will gather August 21–23 at the Grand Hotel Marriott in Point Clear, Ala., for the 36th annual Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Opportunities Conference. The meeting, hosted by the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Council, will feature an impressive lineup of speakers who will cover topics ranging from civil works projects and trends at the state and federal levels to reports from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a look at adventurers on the Great Loop.
The conference will open with the council chairman’s reception on the evening of August 21 at the Grand Hotel’s North Ballroom Patio, overlooking the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Following opening remarks August 22, R.D. James, assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, will address conference attendees. Other government officials speaking on day one of the Tenn-Tom conference will include Rep. Robert Aderholt from Alabama’s 4th congressional district, Rep. Bradley Byrne from Alabama’s first congressional district, Appalachian Regional Commission Federal Co-chair Tim Thomas, and Jim Murphy from the U.S. Maritime Administration.
Janaina Siegler, assistant professor at Butler University’s Lacy School of Business, will present a study titled “Taking the Plunge: Making a Modal Shift,” focused on shifting more of the supply chain to the waterways. With the Tenn-Tom forming an optional leg of the Great Loop, the group will also hear from Kim Russo, director of the America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association.
Along with dinner the evening of August 22, attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in the conference’s silent auction.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will then headline the August 23 lineup, reporting on the state of the Tenn-Tom, along with operations and maintenance funding and any scheduled work on area waterways.
Following lunch August 23, the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Council will host a four-person golf scramble on the Dogwood Course of Lakewood Golf Club.
Conference registration details are available on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Council’s website, www.tenntom.org. For hotel registration details, contact the Grand Hotel Marriott at 800-228-9290 or 251-928-9201.
