FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 31, 2005
Southern University Ag Center Communications
P.O. Box 10010
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70813
(225)771-2242 / (225) 771-4374 Fax
www.suagcenter.com
SU Ag Center to hold the 8th Annual National Faith
and Community Economic Development Conference
The Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center is gathering community
and religious leaders from across the country to speak at the Eighth Annual National Faith
and Community Economic Development Conference. The Conference will be held February 17-19,
2005 in Monroe, LA at the Monroe Civic Center.
Major sponsors for the event include Bank One, Am South Bank, and the
Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living. The theme of this year's conference, The RE
Conference, derives from the conference's main purpose: to REnew your spirit, REdefine your
organization, REevaluate your programs, and REvive your Communities. "Regardless of your
situation in life or the status of your organization or community there must be a RE period
where we REfocus our efforts or REevaluate our direction," says conference coordinator,
Dr. Ernie Hughes.
The 2005 Faith Based Conference will offer workshops on individual and
organizational development. Such workshops include grant writing and church administration
and management. A gospel concert featuring the Southern University Interdenominational Choir
and the Grambling State Voices of Praise will be held Thursday, February 17 at 7:00 followed
by the gospel play "When King Came," an original play related to the events and visit of
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Monroe during the Civil Rights Movement.
"Southern University has traditionally taken a hands-on approach to working
with the faith-based community on issues of community economic development, and I am confident
this conference will exceed the expectations of those planning to attend," says Hughes.
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