The Monongahela River Town Program will hold a Mon River Town Summit on September 14 with the theme, Unlocking The Opportunities: The Economic Benefits of River-Related Recreation Beyond Tourism.

The Summit will be in the Convocation Center at California University of PA in Washington County starting at 8:00 a.m.

The Mon River Town Program launched in 2010 to connect communities to the growing outdoor recreational market through a bordering river or waterway.

Like land-based trails, recreational water trails are attracting growing numbers of users – paddlers, motorized boaters, anglers and wildlife viewers.

Waterways not only offer increased quality of life to residents, they also can mean an economic boost from visitors and investors.

The River Town Program offers technical assistance in grant writing, riverfront planning, river-related events and activities, infrastructure and amenity improvements, business attraction and marketing.

The agenda for the Summit includes--

-- 8:30 to 8:45 a.m. – “The Mon River Town Program – The Successes and Its Future,” presented by Cathy McCollom of McCollom Development Strategies LLC and Donna Holdorf, executive director of the National Road Heritage Corridor.

-- 8:45 to 9:30 a.m. – “Waterfront Development Tax Credit – What it Means for Mon River Towns” by Jay Sukernak, vice president and CFO of Riverlife.

-- 9:45 to 10:30 a.m. – “Greenspace, Recreation and Resilient Economies – A New Perspective” by Lisa Brown, director of Environmental Initiatives and Projects for Economic Development South.

-- 10:45 to 11:10 a.m. – “River Towns: A Statewide Perspective” by Lindsay Baxter, program manager of energy and climate, PA Environmental Council.

-- 11:10 to 11:30 a.m. – “The Improving Mon River – Locks and Dams and Sustainable Energy Opportunities” by John Confer, professor at Cal University.

Registration fee is $15, payable to National Road Heritage Corridor.

The registration form is available online or by faxing 724-437-6550 or send email to: donnah@nationalroadpa.org. The deadline to register is September 12.  Send forms and payment to: National Road Heritage Corridor, 65 W. Main St., Suite 103, Uniontown, PA 15401.

Questions should be directed to: Cathy McCollom at 814-521-3520.

More information on the program is available at the Mon River Town Program website.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events of PEC, visit the PA Environmental Council website, visit the PEC Blog, follow PEC on Twitter or Like PEC on Facebook.  Click Here to receive regular updates from PEC.

NewsClip:

California University To Host Mon River Summit

8/22/2016