Leading state policymakers from across the nation are in Alabama this week for the 29th annual National Speakers Conference – an event Alabama leaders see as a prime opportunity to highlight some of the best the state has to offer in history, culture, science and technology.
The important showcase event, slated for Oct. 20-23 in Birmingham and Huntsville, is hosted by Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon. The conference typically draws more than half of all the state speakers in the country, making it the single largest gathering of presiding officers in the nation, according to the State Legislative Leaders Foundation (SLLF), the nonpartisan, nonprofit national educational organization for statehouse leaders that organizes the annual conference. To date, close to 30 statehouse speakers were confirmed to make the trip to Alabama.
“It’s a privilege to host the 29th annual National Speakers Conference this year in Alabama. After prolonging the event last year due to COVID complications, I’m excited to finally welcome speakers from across the country to our great state,” McCutcheon said.
“This event is a great opportunity to connect with fellow leaders in state house chambers from every corner of the nation, on top of educating everyone on Alabama’s rich history and culture,” McCutcheon added. “As president of the National Speakers Conference this year, I’m truly looking forward to showing each speaker everything Alabama has to offer.”
The state was originally slated to host the conference in 2020 but travel challenges during the pandemic forced the event to be moved to this year. The last time the event took place in Alabama was in 2006.
“We’re excited to finally host this program. It’s been a long time coming,” said Steve Lakis, SLLF president.
“These programs are not only educational for our speakers, but it’s amazing to watch them create really strong friendships with their counterparts in other states, often across party lines – friends they can call on when they need help within their role as speaker,” Lakis said. “We’ve really felt the void of not seeing each other last year and are eager to get back to it.”
The elected officials will visit important sites and institutions, including Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and the Redstone Arsenal, U.S. Space & Rocket Center, and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville.
The leaders will hear from some of Alabama’s top officials and thought leaders, including Gov. Kay Ivey; Jim Hudson, HudsonAlpha co-founder and board chairman; Jody Singer, director of the Marshall Space Flight Center; and the Rev. Gwendolyn Cook Webb, a former Birmingham “foot soldier” and longtime civil rights activist. Other notable presenters include Auburn University men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl; Alabama Department of Archives and History Director Steve Murray; Space and Rocket Center CEO and Executive Director Kimberly Robinson; and criminal justice activist and author Anthony Ray Hinton. Wrongly convicted of murder and released from state prison after nearly 30 years, Hinton now is a community educator for the Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative.
In addition to visiting sites and the many presentations, time is allotted for networking among the state speakers to discuss key issues.
For more information about the National Speakers Conference, click here.
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October 20, 2021 at 04:02AM
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Statehouse leaders from across the nation gather in Alabama - Alabama NewsCenter
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