“Lighting the Way” Convention Agenda
“Lighting the Way”
MPA’s 140th Annual Convention
Imperial Palace Resort, Biloxi, MS
June 22-24, 2006
THURSDAY, JUNE 22
- 11:00 a.m. Registration/Silent Auction/Vendor Displays set up
- 1:00 p.m. MPA/MPS Board Meetings
- 4:00 p.m. MPA Education Foundation Board Meeting
- 7:00 p.m. Welcoming Reception/Buffet/Live auction to benefit MPAEF; Entertainment: coast area disc jockey playing ’70s music
- 10:00 p.m. Hospitality Suite Open (10 p.m. to midnight)
FRIDAY, JUNE 23
- 7:00 a.m. Registration/Silent Auction/Displays Open Continental breakfast available from 7-9 a.m.
- 8:00 a.m. Convention Kick-Off - Opening remarks/Flag presentation Welcome to the MS Gulf Coast
- 8:15 a.m. Leading the Recovery: How it all relates to communities statewide Panel of key leaders involved with rebuilding the coast area; Coordinator: Ricky Mathews, publisher, The Sun Herald
- 10:30 a.m. Annual MPA & MPS Business Meetings
- 11:00 a.m. Moving Forward: The Big Issues in the Recovery Process The Honorable Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi
- 12 noon Bus loading for afternoon tour of three coast counties. (Limited seating.) (Tour & sporting activities include a boxed lunch/pick up before leaving hotel.)
- 1:00 p.m. Golf Tournament - Shell Landing Golf Club Tennis Tournament - Treasure Oats in Ocean Springs
- 6:00 p.m. President’s Reception & Banquet - MPA’s 140th anniversary recognition Hall of Fame Presentation & Passing of the Gavel
- 10:00 p.m. Hospitality Suite Open (10:00 p.m.-12 midnight)
SATURDAY, JUNE 24
- 7:00 a.m. Registration/Silent Auction/Displays Open/Cont. breakfast 7-9 a.m. Optional viewing of “Saving my Hometown”, CNN documentary
- 8:00 a.m. Getting Mississippi’s Story Told Kathleen Koch, CNN reporter who grew up in Bay St. Louis, MS
- 9:00 a.m. Covering Disasters/Communicating in Crisis Panel of newspaper reporters/editors who rode out the storm; Coordinator: Stan Tiner, editor, The Sun Herald
- 10:15 a.m. Concurrent Sessions:
- (A) Planning Before a Diaster & Covering Katrina’s Aftermath Panel of photojournalists; Tim Isbell, Sun Herald, coordinator
- (B) Community Journalism: The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love Jock Lauterer, Director of the Carolina Community Media Project
- 11:30 a.m. Pressing On: Mississippi’s Newspapers after Hurricane Katrina Dr. Ralph Braseth, Ole Miss Student Media Center
- 12:30 p.m. Better Newspaper Contest - Editorial Division 2005 Awards Luncheon
- 2:00 p.m. Closing Comments
FOR HOTEL RESERVATIONS, CALL 1-888-946-2847 (#1). Identify yourself with the MS Press Association group #V387. Rates: $89-Wed/Thurs; $129-Fri/Sat. Hotel cut off deadline - May 29. Don’t wait!