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RRC Annual Meeting

Join us for Rural Resource Coalition’s Annual meeting as we meet virtually to focus on Resiliency: The Past, Present & Future of Conservation, Culture & Tourism of Rural South Carolina.

Agenda and Speakers

9:00 - 9:10 AM OPENING REMARKS

  • Jennie Stephens, RRC Co-Chair, Executive Director, Center for Heirs' Property Preservation

9:10 – 10:00 AM TOURISM

  • Moderator: Peach Morrison, South Carolina Lowcountry & Resort Island Tourism Commission

  • Doug Bostick, Executive Director/CEO, South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, Liberty Trail

  • Paul McCormack, State Director of State Park Services, SC PRT

  • Mary Roe, Executive Director & Director Programs and Development, Palmetto Conservation Foundation

10:00 – 10:05 AM BREAK

10:05 – 11:00 AM CULTURE

  • Moderator: Susan DuPlessis, SC Arts Commission

  • Chef B.J. Dennis, Gullah Geechee Culture Cuisine

  • Wenonah Haire, Catawba Nation, Digital Engagement Specialist

  • Betty W. McDaniel, BA, MEd, PhD

  • Victoria Smalls, Executive Director, Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, National Heritage Area

11:00 - 11:05 AM BREAK

11:05 – 11:40 AM CONSERVATION

  • Moderator: Dale Threatt-Taylor, The Nature Conservancy

  • Ben Duncan, Chief Resilience Officer, SC Office of Resilience

  • Chairman Tom Mullikin, South Carolina Floodwater Commission

11:40 - 11:55 AM BROADBAND: THE BRIDGE TO THE FUTURE OF CONSERVATION, CULTURE & TOURISM (15 minutes)

  • Jim Stritzinger, Broadband Director, State of South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff

11:55 AM – 12:00 PM CLOSING REMARKS

  • David Harper, RRC Co-Chair, Founder & CEO, Land in Common

About RRC's Annual Meeting

Our annual meeting is a chance for leaders from conservation, farming, forestry, tourism, and community economic development to meet, reconnect, and discover new ways to work together. You’ll hear from partners about recent successes and emerging opportunities to advance our vision of rural prosperity.

With emphasis on spurring wealth creation from within rural communities, the RRC works to create a stronger South Carolina rural economy through: local food markets, working farm and forest conservation, affordable housing, renewable energy, place-based tourism, and more.