Waterways Conference to Feature Political Leaders

Sen. Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist will be the featured speakers at the National Waterways Conference's annual meeting, which will be held at the Sheraton Music City Hotel, in Nashville, Sept. 15-17. More than 350 business, civic and waterways leaders are expected to attend the convention, said Conference Chairman Dennis L. Kirwin, executive vice-president of Midland Marine Corp. The theme of the meeting will be "Here Comes the 21st Century: Are America's Waterways Ready?" Three other waterways organizations have scheduled sessions during the annual meeting. The Arkansas Waterways Commission, Inland Rivers Ports & Terminals (IRPT) and the U.S. Section of the International Navigation Assn. (PIANC) will hold breakfast meetings. At six panel discussions, some 24 speakers and moderators will explore a wide range of current waterway-related issues, including prospects for increased coal and grain traffic, adequate waterways funding, the need for communicating the public value of waterways investment, the outlook for modernization of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois waterways, and the salmon vs. dams controversy in the Pacific Northwest. For registration and hotel information, contact the National Waterways Conference, Inc., 1130 17th St., Northwest, Washington, D.C. 20036-4676; tel: 202-296-4415; fax: 202-835-3861.