OLIVIA - Individuals interested in developing connected communities, thriving main streets and new economies are invited to attend the upcoming Designing Destination Communities corridor conference to be held at Max's Grill in Olivia on Friday, Nov. 9.
The event is being hosted by the Yellowstone Trail Alliance of Western Minnesota and will serve as its first annual meeting and membership drive.
John Davis, a 2018 Obama Fellowship recipient and executive director of Lanesboro Arts, will provide a keynote presentation. It will be followed by an audience-interactive exchange with 2018 Obama Fellowship recipient Ashley Hanson and Minnesota Main Street Coordinator Sarina Otaibi.
Davis' work in the communities of New York Mills (pop. 1,000) and Lanesboro (pop. 754) has been recognized as a national model for rural economic development and community revitalization.
His work with the Lanesboro Arts Campus initiative resulted in its selection as one of the top 12 Small Town Art places in America for 2013 as well as a 2014 Bush Prize for Community Innovation Award winner.
He is a nationally sought after speaker and has been featured on National Public Radio and broadcast on C-Span; it has also been featured in Corporate Report Magazine, USA Today, The New York Times, and the NBC Today Show.
Tickets are available online through Eventbrite (search Yellowstone Trail Alliance) or by calling Nicole at 320-523-0292. RSVP by Nov. 5.
The event kicks off with a social hour and silent auction at 5 p.m., an introduction to the Yellowstone Trail Association of Western Minnesota, a two-entree buffet dinner, and the keynote address at 7 p.m.
