This is a tentative schedule for the 2011 Northern Plains Annual Meeting
Friday, November 11
10:30 a.m. Workshop: Farm Heritage Project: Saving the Stories of Rural People
Narratives by Montana farmers and ranchers help create a permanent record of our rural history and cultural heritage.
12:00 p.m. Registration opens
1:00 Chair Ed Gulick officially convenes the meeting
1:15 Business meeting
This is when we debate and adopt policy resolutions to guide our work. If a member now wants to submit a resolution, it needs a vote of the membership before being considered. Results of elections for officers and at-large Board delegates announced.
5:00 Montana League of Rural Voters 5th Annual Meeting and Happy Hour
6:00 YVCC Cowboy Supper - First Congregational Church
Yellowstone Valley Citizen Council annually hosts this autumn feast, featuring locally produced foods and stew prepared by members.
8:00 Film: Pipe Dreams
Oscar-nominated film about the Keystone XL pipeline, and featuring two Northern Plains Pipeline Landowners Group members.
8:45 Northern Plains Jeopardy
On this 40th Annual Meeting, we are giving Theater of the West a year off. Instead, we will hold an audience-participation game of Northern Plains Jeopardy.
9:15 Adjourn for evening
Saturday, November 12
8:00 a.m. Registration opens
8:00-8:30 Morning coffee
8:30-10:00 Session: Montana’s Renewable Energy Future: Opportunities, Challenges, and Constraints
How Montana can participate in a renewable energy future, handle infrastructure obstacles, and balance landowner rights with development of renewable resources.
10:00 Break
10:30-11:45 Workshop: The Grassroots of a Green Revolution: Using the Ballot Box to Build Power in Our Communities
How Northern Plains members can engage in Montana’s citizen initiative process and identify tools that build power and future victories in the political process.
12:00-12:45 Luncheon (featuring local foods)
Member awards presented and new officers and Board members introduced.
12:45-1:45 Keynote address: Ted Nace, Democracy vs. King Coal
How organized citizens are taking on organized money in the fight for our land, water, and our children’s future.
2:00-3:15 Session: Exporting Our Communities: Coal Export and How It Affects Montana
While American demand for coal has abated, Asian coal demand is booming. How will increased mining and rail traffic through Montana affect our future?
3:15 Break
3:30-4:15 Speaker: Geoff Keith of Synapse Energy Economics, Replacing Coal Energy with Renewable Energy
Freeing ourselves from coal by 2050 through aggressive investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
4:20-5:30 Session: Places Worth Fighting For: The Bull Mountains
Members of Bull Mountain Land Alliance, one of two affiliates that formed Northern Plains, will talk about the history of the Bull Mountains, BMLA, Northern Plains, and the effect of coal development on their community.
5:30 Break
6:00- ? Northern Plains Rendezvous begins
Dinner (featuring local foods, music by Dennis Nettiksimmons)
Auctions
Our excellent silent auction is joined by a live auction, with auctioneer Tom Towe leading the action.
7:00 Remarks by U.S. Senator Jon Tester
9:30 Annual Meeting adjourns, but not the fun.
