Before You Leave for the Holiday
Register NOW for Summit for Smart Growth and Sustainable Communities
Hear Inspiring, Nationally Known Keynote Speakers

(Pictured above) Chuck Marohn of StrongTowns and Judy Wicks of Business Alliance for Local Living Economies and White Dog Cafe.

You’re coming to the 3rd Annual Summit for Smart Growth and Sustainable Communities on Dec. 4, at the Renaissance Hotel in Allentown, right?
If you’ve come in the past, then you know we assemble a diverse crowd of dyamic regional leaders. You’ve felt the energy in the room. You know that you’ll learn a LOT, come away inspired, informed and connected.
If you’ve never been before, it’s not too late to sign up. There are still some seats left and we warmly welcome you to join us. The event is scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and breakfast and lunch will be served.
The Summit has a reputation as being the place where real questions are asked and answered about real issues, such as:

• how to grow a local economy while preserving quality of life,
• how to connect regional transportation systems,
• how to preserve farmland and regional identity most effectively, and
• how to mitigate the negative impacts of gentrification on our urban neighborhoods so that “ALL boats” actually DO “rise with the tide.”
• We’ve got an incredible day lined up with three good reasons for you to sign up TODAY, before you sit down for Thanksgiving turkey!

Reason #1: Inspiring, Nationally Recognized Speakers:
Hearing our breakfast speaker, Judy Wicks of the White Dog Cafe and the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies and our lunchtime speaker, Chuck Marohn of StrongTowns, are each alone worth the price of admission of $75. Both are inspiring, nationally recognized pioneers in their fields (local food entreprenership, local economies and smart transportation planning, respectively.) Come, sit back and expect to be inspired and impressed.

Reason #2: Dynamic, Informative and Thought-Provoking Panel Discussions:
As is our tradition at the Summit, we pull together dynamic thought-leaders from the Lehigh Valley and beyond and ask them difficult questions. This year, two panels will answer the following thought-provoking questions:
How can we preserve open space while supporting job creation and economic development?
How does a municipality strike a balance between paying its bills, preserving its individual appeal and supporting the local economy?
Given the increasing market demand for locally grown and organic food, how can the region better grow a vibrant local food economy?
How do we capitalize on our central location through an interconnected mass transit and rail system rather continuing to maily focus on widening our highways?

Our panelists include:
Panel #1 Regional Challenges of Land Use and Urban Revitalization (facilitated by former RenewLV board co-chair, Deana Zosky, Principal of FourScore LLC)

• Dr. Percy Dougherty, PhD - Board of Commissioners, Lehigh County
• Gary Smith, President & CEO of Chester County Economic Development Corporation
• David Jaindl, Owner and President of Jaindl Farms
• Dennis Benner, Developer on Bethlehem’s Southside and Attorney at Benner & Piperato
• Rev. Gregory Edwards, PhD, CEO of Resurrected Life Community Development Corporation

Panel #2 Real Life Stories From the Farm, the Suburb and the Neighborhoods (facilitated by Holly Edinger, director of Government and Community Services, Sacred Heart Hospital. Edinger is the former director, ENVISION Study, LVEDC.)

• Ron Beitler, Commissioner, Lower Macungie Township, “Why We Fight Sprawl”
• Joe McHugh, Senior VP of Government Affairs, Amtrak, “Stories of How to Make Passenger Rail Happen”
• Sal Panto, Mayor of Easton, PA, “Living Well Without the NIZ or CRIZ”
• Forest Wessner, Jr., Farmer, Lehigh County, “Farmland Forever vs. the Lure of Development”
• Andy Twiggar, Principal with Dunn Twiggar and developer of Allentown’s The Waterfront, “Considerations of Developing the Urban Core”
• Pam Parker, “Old Skewl” shared use commercial kitchen business incubator, Vera Cruz, “Growing a Local Food Economy”

Reason #3: Afternoon “Table Talks” — Interactive Break-Out Sessions to Mobilize for Action

Following the speakers and the panels, you are invited to join us for “Table Talks,” interactive break-out sessions where we can network, share information and collaborate on various smart growth. This is where we move from ideas to actions. You will hear more about the topics early next week, but, in short, they range from Multi-Modal Transportation Planning through Complete Streets, Creating a Movement of Neighborhood Based Infill Developers and Passenger Rail.

Join our 2015 Sponsors!

To sponsor this event, call us at 610-893-1060 or email us at smartgrowth@renewlv.org
For more information about the 2015 Summit, our nationally recognized Keynote Speakers, dynamic line up of panelists or to register - click here. The deadline to have your logo included in all promotional materials is Monday, Nov. 30 by the end of the day.

Warm Regards,
Joyce Marin
Executive Director, RenewLV
P.S. Sign up for the 2015 Summit for Smart Growth and Sustainable Communities.

About RenewLV:
Renew Lehigh Valley is a non-profit organization committed to promoting smart growth and smart governance in order to revitalize our core communities, preserve open space, and establish an economically and environmentally sustainable foundation for our region’s future growth.