SEJ Conference Planners Preparing
for October 19-22 Michigan State Meeting
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Michigan State University’s basketball Spartans have answered convincingly that they’re the number one boys team this year.
Now the question is whether the East Lansing campus can attract journalists for the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) tenth national conference October 19-22.
It’s an issue that SEJ’s Board and conference managers have been aware of since first selecting the site over several others more than a year ago. They are doing their best to put together the kind of meeting — including playing-up the 10-year anniversary of the organization — that will again bring reporters from throughout the country.
Long-time SEJ conference coordinator Jay Letto points out that similar concerns about drawing power preceded SEJ’s conferences in Chattanooga (because it’s “small”) and Los Angeles (because it isn’t and also “for obvious reasons”). He says the group is confident the meeting “has gained enough acclaim on its own that it can stand on its own,” and he points to a strong SEJ membership in the upper Midwest and a record of strong SEJ Great Lakes regional meetings as providing further encouragement. In addition, he said he expects the meeting will draw journalists from Canada.
The Great Lakes of course will play a prominent role in the conference, although the campus conference site itself is not exactly nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan. Detroit’s auto culture, the approach of the presidential elections in the U.S., and trans-border U.S./Canadian issues also will be showcased “in a region still faced with huge environmental challenges,” according to SEJ’s promotional brochure.
Energy savant Amory Lovins and writer Bill McKibben will be among several headliners scheduled to speak at the meeting, and attendees also can partake of the International Wildlife Film Festival and the Michigan Historical Museum in a part of the country where both Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson played major roles.
Another SEJ come-on likely to play well with some journalists: “drinking ‘sustainable’ beer from the Leopold Bros. Brewery. Aldo would definitely approve.”
Advance-registration tours on Thursday, October 19, will include full and half-day treks to Michigan State’s Kellogg Biological Station and the Michigan Audubon Society’s Sanctuary, sailing on the 85-foot schooner “Appledore” on Lake Huron, and touring Ford Motor’s River Rouge complex for a taste of “sustainable manufacturing.” Also among the scheduled options are briefings at Dow Chemical Company’s Midland, Mi., headquarters and manufacturing site, and a visit to the University’s National Food Safety and Toxicology Center. A post-conference tour available for a separate fee will feature a visit to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The Friday opening plenary will address “real or hype?” questions involving the greening of automaking. SEJ’s traditional Friday “network lunch” will again focus tabletop exchanges with newsmakers on a range of issues, and the membership meeting will be held Friday afternoon.
“SEJ network breakfast conference-goers love the network lunch so much, we thought we’d try it at breakfast too,” the group says in making plans for 20-25-person roundtable breakfasts on Saturday morning focused on reporting tips, fellowships, jobs, and other job-related issues.
The group expects to feature top presidential candidates’ environmental advisors at the Saturday lunch, which will come after a series of Friday and Saturday concurrent sessions discussing a sweeping range of environmental and natural resources issues.
A Thursday evening welcoming reception and a Saturday evening buffet dinner at the Michigan Historical Center will help round-out the formal social activities planned as part of the meeting.
Journalists can learn more about the meeting and download a registration from from SEJ’s Web site at http://www.sej.org, where agenda updates also are to be posted.
SEJ members registering before August 11 will pay $145, non-members $425. After that date, members’ registration fees go to $175, nonmembers to $475. Student registration rates are $64, and the individual Thursday tour fees range from $10 to $40. Lodging reservations at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center on campus can be made by calling (800) 875-5090. Space is limited and going quickly, so call early and mention participation in the Society of Environmental Journalists meeting. Shuttle transportation will accommodate those staying at nearby hotels.