APWA and New Orleans Team Together!
Friday and Saturday, August 15 and 16, 2008

Thank you for your willingness to donate your time participating in the Saint Bernard Project. More than 200 of your APWA colleagues have already signed up! We have successfully reached the maximum number of volunteers the Saint Bernard Project team can accommodate and, as a result, registration is now closed.

If you would like information on other organizations who are assisting with rebuild efforts in the New Orleans area, or would like to be placed on a waiting list if openings become available with the Saint Bernard Project, or if you have any questions, please contact Brian Van Norman at 816-595-5260 or bvannorman@apwa.net.

APWA members, exhibitors and guests attending the 2008 Congress have an opportunity to make a direct impact in assisting the residents of the New Orleans area whose lives were forever changed by the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.

We need you to roll up your sleeves and help rebuild the homes and renew the way of life in this community.

APWA through its Proud to Care Program will support the rebuild efforts by taking part in a two-day outreach program to rebuild homes in Saint Bernard Parish. No prior experience or skill set is needed; you will paint or assist with other similar projects enabling residents to move back into their neighborhoods and rebuild their lives in the community.

Opportunities will be available:
Friday, August 15, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 16, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Transportation from Congress hotels to the work site along with lunch, water and work supplies will be provided.

Online registration will be available in early March. Contact Brian Van Norman at bvannorman@apwa.net or 800-848-2792, ext. 5260 with questions.

For more information about the Saint Bernard Project visit www.stbernardproject.org.

Community Outreach

Saturday, August 16, Noon
Shotgun Start, 4-person “Shamble”
Stonebridge Golf Club of New Orleans
(Separate fee and preregistration required)

Gather up your colleagues and take advantage of this beautiful links-style course located just minutes from downtown New Orleans. Stonebridge Golf Club showcases the canals and bayous that characterize the unique New Orleans golf experience and features more than 100 sand traps that protect its pristine fairways and large, undulating greens. For more about the course, visit www.stonebridgegolfofno.com.

For more information, contact Gary or Josh at 504-469-2015
Download Golf Registration form now.

Sunday, August 17, 7:30–9:30 a.m

If you are attending the APWA Congress for the first time, please join us at the First-Timers Meeting. You’ll hear greetings from the APWA President and Executive Director; learn how to get the most out of your dollar and time investment in Congress; learn all about the educational sessions and tracks that APWA offers; learn how to use the exhibits to your advantage; understand how to scan the Congress program to find what you need; and in the process, make some lifelong acquaintances of public works people from around the world.

Sunday, August 17, Parade starts at 4:30 p.m.
Party starts at 5 p.m.

The excitement and energy of this year's opening party will begin at the convention center, as we all particpate in a Mardi Gras parade along the streets of New Orleans to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. Upon entering the Aquarium, you'll become a part of this underground paradise. Wander through the Caribbean Reef tunnel where Moray eels and parrotfish are among the hundreds of specimens that will swim around and surround you, on to the Amazon Rain Forest, past cascading waterfalls and red bellied piranha. As you emerge from the Amazon, you'll be greeted by the sounds of New Orleans Jazz and the sight of playful penguins. Hang out here awhile at the Living in Water gallery, where food stations featuring delectable New Orleans cuisine will be set among the backdrop of penguins, tropical sharks, and seahorses. And don't forget to visit Buck and Emma, the Aquarium's playful sea otters and most famous residents. Come enjoy great food, drinks, jazz, views of the Mississippi River, and of course all our aquatic guests at this year's Get Acquainted Party!

Monday, August 18, 7:30–8:45 a.m.
Room 245
(Ticketed event—separate fee & preregistration required)
Speaker: Doris Voitier, Superintendent, St. Bernard Parish Public School District, Chalmette, LA

When every building in St. Bernard Parish was damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, Superintendent Voitier worked tirelessly to reopen school doors for returning students. She was honored in 2007 with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in recognition of her heroic efforts in the face of incredible odds. This is a story you do not want to miss. Sign up to attend this breakfast today!

Monday, August 18, Noon–1:30 p.m.
(Ticketed event – separate fee & preregistration required)
Speaker: Jean Perrault, President, Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), Mayor, The City of Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada

Jean Perrault will provide his insight into how mayors and councils can work most effectively with public works, especially in emergency and disaster response efforts. He’ll also explore how FCM and CPWA can work in partnership to advance our common agenda.

Monday, August 18, Noon–1:30 p.m.
Making the Rigid Resilient: Recovery in New Orleans
(Ticketed event – separate fee & preregistration required)
Speaker: Craig E. Colten, PhD, Carol O. Sauer Professor, Department of Geography & Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA

Over the last two centuries, New Orleans has moved away from resilient flood protection practices, while adopting rigid, growth-oriented structural systems. Current recovery efforts need to consider how to restore resiliency in flood protection and urban development. A comparison of historical and more recent practices reveals potential solutions. Among Craig Colten’s publications and books are: An Unnatural Metropolis: Wresting New Orleans from Nature, 2005; “Reconstruction of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina: A Research Perspective,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2006.

Monday, August 18, 5–7 p.m.

Join your colleagues at the 2008 APWA Awards Ceremony as individuals, agencies and corporations are honored for their valuable contributions to and innovations in the public works industry. APWA leaders will present awards to recipients during the ceremony, with a celebratory reception to immediately follow. Among the awards to be presented include the Top Ten Public Works Leaders of the Year, Projects of the Year and Professional Managers of the Year. For more information contact Rhonda Wilhite at rwilhite@apwa.net.

Monday and Tuesday, August 18 and 19, 7 a.m.–3 p.m

Do you have 45 minutes to spare to save the life of another person? Did you know that every three seconds someone needs blood? One single donation can save as many as three lives—and there is NO substitute for human blood.

APWA is proud to partner with the The Blood Center of New Orleans, a not-for-profit center responsible for supplying blood and tissue to more than 40 hospitals throughout Southern Louisiana and lower Mississippi.

It’s quick and easy! Prospective donors must first complete a health history questionnaire and go through a screening process. During the screening process a technician will take important vital signs, such as blood pressure, temperature, and an iron check. If all the requirements are met, a unit of blood is drawn from the donor. The actual blood collection takes approximately 15–20 minutes. The entire process from when you sign in to the time you leave takes about 45 minutes to one hour.

Anyone age 17 years or older, who weighs at least 110 pounds and is in good general health, may donate. Photo identification is required before beginning the donation process. (Some health conditions or medications may temporarily or permanently prevent persons from donating blood.)

Please join us in this vital effort. Come by the main entrance lobby, roll up your sleeve and save a life!

Tuesday, August 19, 7:00-8:15 a.m.
(Ticketed event—separate fee & preregistration required)
Speaker: George Crombie, Secretary of Natural Resources, State of Vermont, Waterbury, VT

Secretary Crombie has served as both a public works director and was the Undersecretary of Environmental Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As Secretary of Natural Resources for the State of Vermont, he is uniquely positioned to offer perspective on the management, service delivery, and financial issues facing environmental and public works professionals in today’s world.

Tuesday, August 19, 10–11:30 a.m.
(Ticketed event—separate fee & preregistration required)
Speaker: Maura W. Donahue, President, Donahue-Favret Contractors Holding Company, Covington, LA, and former chair, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2005–2006

Maura Donahue is a vocal advocate of small business issues including reducing healthcare costs, burdensome government regulations and litigation. She served as Chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2005–2006.

Most chapter dinners are scheduled for Tuesday, August 19. For more information, contact Rhonda Wilhite at rwilhite@apwa.net.

Wednesday, August 20, 6 p.m.

SOUL (noun): The principle of life, feeling, thought and action in humans, regarded as a distinct entity separate from the body.

Join your APWA friends at this year's closing banquet, as we unlock the SOUL through an emotional, power-filled and recharging experience in the great city of New Orleans—where Soul and the Jazz Fest were born. Each course of dinner will be accompanied by different and unique New Orleans entertainment. Surrender to the spirit and ambience of the evening. Feel the heat of the music and the excitement of the musicians and artists as they deliver their own soul. Give it up, sway to the music, and feel the passion! Come celebrate Jazz Fest in New Orleans—feel the soul, feed the body, and surrender yourself to a musical, artistic and culinary festival of the senses!

Tuesday, August 19, 11:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

$85 per person

Begin in the heart of the French Quarter with lunch at one of New Orleans’ oldest and most historic restaurants, Tujague’s (pronounced “two-jax”). Located across Decatur Street from the historic French Market, this restaurant truly captures the feeling of old New Orleans. Following is a chilling adventure through an above-ground cemetery, a city of the dead wherein each crypt holds a story. Joining the party will be a “hauntings” expert versed in entrancing local history, voodoo, ghosts and cemeteries.