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2010 Annual
Meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society Rockford, Illinois April 29 – May 1 Download registration form and
call for papers Come join the Illinois Geographical
Society from April 29 – May 1, 2010 at our Annual Meeting in Rockford.
This year’s theme is Rockford: Little City, Big Town, and will showcase
Rockford’s incredible array of ethnicities, as well as transportation and
agriculture in the area. For more information on Rockford, consider reading Pat
Cunningham’s Rockford:
Big Town, Little City; or Jon Lundin’s Rockford:
An Illustrated History Our Hotel, Cliffbreaker’s
Riverside Resort: We’re staying at Cliffbreaker’s, which is truly a gem along the Rock
River. Make sure to visit their online photo
gallery for a preview of the site.
Call (815) 282-3033 to make your reservation, and be sure to request
the Illinois Geographical Society rate ($65 per night, after taxes
$72.80). The hotel is located at 700
W. Riverside Boulevard in Rockford. Thursday, April 29:
The Executive Council will convene for its dinner and meeting at Cliffbreaker’s Riverside Resort. Check in and
explore Rockford, or dine-in at the hotel restaurant which provides stunning
views of the Rock River. We’re planning on holding a teacher
pre-service workshop this evening, as well (though arrangements must be finalized). The Rockford Convention and Visitor’s
Bureau will be staffing a table at Cliffbreaker’s
to welcome you and give you some tourist and dining recommendations. Friday, April 30:
The field trip will depart from the hotel at 8 AM. Local historian Sue
Crandall will accompany us for the entire trip. While touring the city,
we’ll have tours of the Ethnic
Heritage Museum, Erlander Home Museum, the Rockford International Airport, and have a
final stop at a dairy farm. We’re still awaiting word as to whether
we’ll be able to get into a Green Giant vegetable canning facility.
Along the way we’ll see the Tinker Swiss Cottage, the site where the Rockford
Peaches played baseball (from the film “A League of Their Own,” Haight Village, and Sinnissippi
Park. For lunch, the group will stop
at Stockholm Inn for a traditional
Swedish buffet. Swedish meatballs, mushroom chicken, scalloped potatoes
with anchovies, red boiled potatoes, pasta primavera, and dessert of Swedish
rice will be served. That evening we will meet at Cliffbreaker’s for our banquet and awards ceremony.
We will have a cash bar and dinner buffet, serving herb crusted chicken, pork
tenderloin with cranberry sauce, and pasta primavera. Steve Ernst, the
Executive Director of the Rockford
Metropolitan Agency for Planning, will deliver the keynote address,
discussing the possibilities for high-speed rail in Rockford. His
presentation will be followed by the two-year awards, four-year awards, and
the Distinguished Geographer award. Saturday, May 1:
Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey will address the conference at 8:30.
Paper presentations will begin at 9:00, followed by our business meeting and
luncheon. We anticipate having a local television reporter as our guest
speaker, but are awaiting final confirmation. For more information, please
contact Keith Yearman
or Joe Kubal,
the meeting organizers. Special thanks
to the Rockford Convention and Visitor’s
Bureau for their invaluable assistance. Information on our Keynote Address: Steve
Ernst, of the Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning, provided this
preview of his speech: The presentation will examine the
state-of-the-practice in high speed rail transportation throughout the world,
the emerging technologies in the United States, and the rail transportation planning specific to the Midwest and to Rockford, IL. The presentation will feature President
Obama’s “Vision for High Speed Rail in America” and the regulatory and
funding changes in the US Department of Transportation that were thrust
into the limelight with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The
presentation will also provide information on the passenger rail programs that affect the Midwest
and Rockford, including traditional inter-city passenger rail, commuter rail
and high speed rail. The presentation
will feature a question and answer session.
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