TML Annual Conference

June 13 - 15, 2010

Final Conference Program

For video of gubernatorial candidate's comments and workshops click here

For conference workshop  information, hand outs and powerpoint presentations click here

Conference keynote focuses on sustainable communities during tough economic times

Dr. Jim Johnson

How do cities create highly competitive and sustainable communities in an era of economic uncertainty?

Dr. Jim Johnson, professor of entrepreneurship and director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will explore how municipalities can invest in "community capital" in order to thrive and prosper in the twenty-first-century economy.

Johnson will give the opening keynote address at TML's Annual Conference in Gatlinuburg, slated for Sunday, June 13 - 15 at the Gatlinburg Convention Center.

Based on his research, Johnson's presentation will highlight the economic and demographic challenges that cities will have to respond to in the years ahead, and the "smart" infrastructure that cities will need to put in place in order to remain attractive as places to live and do business.

Dr. Johnson will also present a workshop on Monday morning entitled, "Creating Healthy and Sustainable Communities for an Aging Population." This workshop will focus on how communities should respond to the rapid rise in their aging population, such as installing larger street signage, providing accessible housing, offering age appropriate fitness programs, as well as lifelong learning and job re-training opportunities.

Dr. Johnson is the William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School. He has developed a conceptual model of a highly competitive community and will use it in his presentation as the framework for talking about these issues.

His research on these and related topics has been widely cited in a number of national media outlets, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Detroit Free Press, Newsweek, Time Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, and Business Week. He has also appeared on a number of national television shows, including The Today Show on NBC, CNN Headline News, the CBS Evening News, ABC Nightly News, Sunday Morning on CBS, Inside Politics on CNN, and This Week in Review on NBC.