The 2017 Your Town Alabama Workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, August 30 – Friday, September 1, 2017 at Camp McDowell, located near Nauvoo, AL, in Walker County. This letter includes essential information and application instructions for this year’s annual workshop, Your Town Alabama’s 19th year anniversary. The workshop consists of highly informative presentations and problem-solving activities for participants and is an excellent opportunity to network with other leaders from communities throughout Alabama. Participants will make contacts with presenters who work throughout Alabama in the planning, design, economic development, and resource preservation fields. The focus of the workshop aims specifically to introduce small town and rural technical assistance providers and decision makers to the role of design in community planning. Former participants say that the workshop is “FUN and invigorating and opened their minds to many possibilities”. We invite all community leaders to register for this workshop, by completing the application on-line by July 28, 2017. The number of participants we accept is limited, therefore, we suggest early registration. The preferred method of registration is to register and pay on-line. You can register and securely pay online using a credit card by visiting http://yourtown2017.eventbrite.com and follow the instructions. If you wish to register via U.S. mail, (download the application in Microsoft Word format). Please type the application and mail it with your check payable to “Your Town Alabama” to the address on the application.

Participants are responsible for their own travel to and from Camp McDowell. The workshop begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 30 and ends at 12:00 noon on Friday, September 1. Participants are required to stay for the ENTIRE workshop; NO EXCEPTIONS! Feel free to visit the Camp McDowell website at: www.campmcdowell.com for directions. Lodging for 8/30 – 9/1 are REQUIRED at Camp McDowell in Bethany Villages. If lodging is needed for Tuesday, 8/29, due to travel distance, a list of local hotels in Jasper is listed below. Your Town Alabama participants will be housed in Parsley Commons in Bethany Villages, which includes 6 lodges – each lodge has 11 bedrooms (6 upstairs and 5 downstairs – all rooms have two queen beds/one bath). There are NO TV’s, radios, alarm clocks or telephones in the lodges; you will be surrounded by a beautiful natural environment! Feel free to bring your bicycle as we will be walking, cycling or driving to the eating facilities. Dress for the workshop is very casual (shorts/jeans/T-shirts/tennis shoes).

The cost for the workshop is $230 per participant for double occupancy (roommates will be assigned) OR $300 per participant for single occupancy. Single rooms are limited; if you prefer a single room, you are encouraged to apply EARLY as they will be filled on a first-come/first-serve basis. The registration fee includes ALL workshop materials, lodging and meals: (lunch and dinner on Wednesday; three meals on Thursday; breakfast on Friday), and a non-refundable deposit of $150. On-line registration is preferred, however if you can not register on-line, please include payment with your application and send via U.S. mail; make checks payable to: “Your Town Alabama”. Cancellation Policy: All refund requests will be subject to a $150 fee; the remainder of the fee will be refunded if cancelled by July 28, 2017. No refunds will be issued after 7/28/17. Registrations may be transferred to another person at no cost if a completed application is submitted by 7/28/17. Please contact Martha Whitson at martha@yourtownalabama.org with any cancellation and transfer requests. If you need additional information, call Nathan Willingham at (256) 412-0775 or e-mail workshop@yourtownalabama.org.

Please feel free to duplicate this information and distribute among citizens in your community that would benefit from the workshop. Participants must apply for and be accepted to attend the Your Town Alabama workshop prior to arrival. There will be NO on-site registration since extensive preparation must be made well in advance.

The workshop is sponsored by a host of organizations including the Alabama Historical Commission, the Alabama Association of Regional Councils, Alabama Communities of Excellence, Alabama Forestry Commission, Alabama State Council on the Arts, The University of Alabama Center for Economic Development, Auburn University Urban Studio, the Cawaco Resource Conservation and Development Council, and Walker Area Community Foundation.

Please complete the application online or return the completed downloaded application via U.S. mail by the July 28, 2017 deadline. If selected, information will be e-mailed to you with more specific information. All late applications will be considered for the 2018 annual workshop. We look forward to a fun, challenging and rewarding workshop!!