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2014 RPC Annual Conference

When:
Wednesday, October 15, 2014, 12:00 PM until Friday, October 17, 2014, 1:00 PM
Where:
Mariners Landing Resort and Conference Center
http://www.smlvaca.com/
1217 Graves Harbor Trail
Huddleston, VA  24104

1-855-SML-VACA toll free
Additional Info:
Event Contact(s):
Andy Sorrell
804-225-3637 (p)
Category:
Annual Conference
Registration is closed
Payment in Full In Advance Or At Event


The Rural Planning Caucus of Virginia (RPC) will host its 36th annual conference October 15-17, 2014 at Mariners Landing Resort in Bedford County, Virginia.  The RPC Executive Committee works very hard to provide rural folks an informative conference devoted to issues and topics of interest to citizens and professionals alike who live and work in small towns and rural counties.  We have historically focused on rural Virginia, but we also have relevance to rural communities outside of Virginia. If you have never been to an RPC conference, give us a try (and bring your family too)! 

Have questions? Give Andy Sorrell a call 804-786-1906 or by e-mail at: chair@rpcva.org

Conference Registration Information


The 2014 conference registration fee shall be $125* (same as 2013).    Payment may be made  anytime on this website via Credit Card** or by sending a check payable to: 

"Virginia Rural Planning Caucus" care of: 
Ms. Sharon Angle, RPC Treasurer 
P.O. Box 58 
Staunton, VA  24402
Phone: 540-332-3862

Please find our conference agenda below:
2014 Conference Sessions (8/22/2014  finalized & updated draft)

Please find the agenda for the Wednesday off-site tour of the Town of Bedford below:
Wednesday Workshop Agenda (10/9/2014 FINAL)
 
Annual RPC membership for the following year is included in conference registration. Registering for the 2014 conference will provide membership through 12/31/2015.  

If you attended the 2013 conference, you are a member through 12/31/2014. If you did not attend the 2013 conference and have not renewed your membership you are a non-member. If you paid the $25.00 new member or renewing member fee after 1/1/2014, you are a member through 12/31/2014. 

If you have question on your membership, please contact Andy Sorrell at chair@rpcva.org

*Registration does not include room and meals.  If you do not plan to stay at the hotel, but attend the conference, meals will be a la carte and you shall be required to pay for them individually at the time of the meal at the hostess station.  Your name badge will note if your staying at the hotel. 

**If paying online by credit card, there is a non-refundable processing fee added to the above registration costs.  The fee will vary depending on the credit card you use and generally is around $3.00.  RPC does not have the ability to refund this fee, in the event of a cancellation.

2014 Free Registrations Available!

The Virginia Rural Planning Caucus strongly desires to foster attendance of folks who haven't attended RPC before or haven't been able to in a number of years. Starting in 2013 we began outreach to rural localities in neighboring states including North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. New for 2014, we are also offering free registrations for several retired attendees.  

For the 2014 conference, RPC is please to offer a total of 9 free conference registrations:

  • 3 available to individuals from Virginia jurisdictions that have not had a representative attend the conference in the last 3 years (since 2010);  Update 9/15/14: All spoken for: Mecklenburg County (Robert Hendrick), Goochland County (Dan Schardein) and Cumberland County (Sara Carter).
  • 3 available to rural planning professionals not working or living in Virginia (1 per locality) to those persons who are employed and living in states adjacent to Virginia; and Update 9/15/14: All spoken for: Casewell County, North Carolina (Catesby Dension), Town of Beech Mountain, North Carolina (James Scott) , and the Town of Sophia, West Virginia (Jeff Pittman).  
  • 3 available to those who are retired from the planning profession (public or private).

If you qualify and desire a free registration, please email chair@rpcva.org to check the availability of free registrations.

Lodging & Meals Information (not included in conference registration fee):


The conference will be at Mariners Landing Resort and Conference Center in Huddleston, Virginia. 
For 2014 the room rate is all inclusive and includes all meals. Rooms are condo-style and include 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms. The rate for all room types is $195.00 per night per person (includes gratuity, but not taxes, with taxes the total per night is about $210).  

Lodging includes:
• Condo accommodations for 1 night - either 1 bedroom (studio), 2 bedroom, or 3 bedroom;
• 3 meals per day, beginning with dinner on Wednesday night (10/15) and ending with lunch on Friday (10/17); and
• High speed internet - wireless Internet in the conference rooms, high speed DSL service in the condos;

Information on room types can be found here: 2014 Conference Room Types

There are a limited number of 1 bedroom condos - once those are all reserved, 2 and 3 bedroom condos will be available - which are suite style with a shared kitchen and living room, but with individual, (private!) bedrooms and bathrooms. 1 bedroom condos do not have waterfront views, but the 2 and 3 bedroom condos do! The RPC Board highly recommends the 2-bedroom units; the 3-bedroom units “only” have 2 ½ baths, and are also limited in availability.

2 bedroom condos require 2 occupants and 3 bedroom condos, 3 - the 1 bedroom condos require (you guessed it!) a single. These are all minimums, not maximums. If you are bringing a spouse, they can share a bedroom and just pay a per-diem rate for meals which is $68 per day. 

To make a reservation, please contact Mariners Landing Resort and Conference Center at 1-540-892-6391 or 1-855-SML-VACA (toll free) between 9 AM and 5 PM. State that you are placing a reservation for the 2014 Rural Planning Caucus conference to ensure you receive our discounted rate. For those sharing a room (again, we highly recommend the 2-bedroom units!), please have your roommates’ name(s) ready when you call in.

When you make your reservation, one night's room and board ($195) will be required as a deposit at the time of booking. Advanced reservation may be charged to American Express, Visa or MasterCard. Credit cards deposits will be charged at the time the reservation is made.
  
Driving directions to Mariners Landing can be found below:
http://www.smlvaca.com/?page_id=1127

Cancellations made within 7 days of arrival (i.e. after October 7, 2014) will be subject to a cancellation fee of one night's room and tax. Refunds are not issued for cancellations within 7 days of arrival.

The block of rooms reserved for the RPC conference will be held until October 1, 2014 after which time room reservations cannot be guaranteed.

Hotel check in time is after 3 pm, and Mariners Landing has extended RPC’s checkout time to 11 am on Friday.

Note: The $195 conference rate covers one bedroom and all meals for ONE person for the duration of the conference; guests, and those not staying at the hotel, will need to pay for meals individually.

A Note About Our 2014 Change of Venue

Since the 2013 conference, RPC decided it was time to explore new venue locations for our annual conference. While we plan to go back to Mountain Lake in Giles County (where our conference has been since 1988) for 2014 we decided that a more central location will attract more interest from those in the central, southern and eastern parts of Virginia.  We were last at Smith Mountain Lake in 1987. After a tour in the summer of 2013 and then a review of conference evaluations after the 2013 fall conference, the executive committee felt Mariners Landing Resort and Conference Center on the northern side of Smith Mountain Lake would be a great conference venue for 2014 - we hope you like it!

If you have questions, let us know! chair@rpcva.org

Never been to a RPC conference? Photos from Past Conferences:

 

Slideshow
Past Conference Images