Editor’s Note: “The Economic Development Side” originally appears in the Pine Bluff Regional Chamber of Commerce’s weekly member e-newsletter. It is written by Rhonda Dishner, the Economic Development Alliance’s executive assistant.
It typically takes months of advance planning to coordinate a successful conference.
Board members of the Arkansas Waterways Association (AWA) actually began discussing their 2018 annual conference at a meeting that took place less than two weeks after last year’s event.
But planning began in earnest on Feb. 8 when the board met in Little Rock to talk about the selected location, the host hotel, dates, and conference marketing materials. A partial list of confirmed speakers also was reviewed.
The Pine Bluff-Jefferson County Port Authority, an Alliance affiliate organization, is a long-time member of AWA. The authority’s executive director, Lou Ann Nisbett, currently serves as AWA vice president. She took part in the early planning sessions and expects several more to be scheduled to finalize arrangements for the upcoming conference that will be held Nov. 7-8 in Hot Springs. Although that’s months away, it’s not too early to begin sending out “Save the Date” invitations to ensure a large number of registrations.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
AWA was created in 1995 “to establish Arkansas as a leader in water transportation.” Members include representatives from public and private ports, terminals, navigation, agriculture and governmental interests, according to its brochure, which also relates that AWA currently represents over 90 public and private organizations.
It promotes activities on the five navigable rivers of the state of Arkansas, which has over 1,000 miles of inland waterways, and focuses on navigation funding, protecting the environment, tourism and recreation, and maintenance of waterways infrastructure.
The organization has been working lately to grow its membership and increase attendance at its conferences. Nisbett is pleased that efforts are paying off and “new blood” is joining AWA.
“A big portion of AWA’s membership is, shall I say, of an older generation,” she said. “It’s exciting that younger folks in river-related jobs and positions are becoming members and getting involved. We want the momentum of increased support for our state’s waterways to continue growing.”
Membership levels in the association range from $75 for individuals to $200 for small businesses, with public entities paying $300 per year. More information about AWA and Arkansas’ rivers, ports and terminals can be found at www.arwaterways.com.