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The 2018 Annual Conference of the Coosa-Alabama River Improvement Association (CARIA) is scheduled for Thursday, May 10th and Friday, May 11th, at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel in Montgomery, Alabama, the head of navigation on the Alabama River.

The conference begins this Thursday with an open schedule to allow for the enjoyment of a variety of activities Montgomery has to offer (the Renaissance spa, golf, tennis, shopping, sightseeing, etc.) before a welcome host bar reception at 5:00 p.m. at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel. Also included is an evening at Riverwalk Stadium when Montgomery’s AA baseball team, the Biscuits (minor league affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays) will play the Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee Brewers) at 6:35 p.m. CARIA will have a special area with a buffet set aside at the Stadium for attendees.

Friday’s events will include a full breakfast starting at 7:30 a.m., a CARIA membership meeting, the general meeting and a closing luncheon. The general meeting topics will cover issues pertaining to Alabama’s river systems, highlighting the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa basin, but with a special emphasis on infrastructure and economic development.

There is an impressive lineup of speakers including CARIA Exective Director, Blake Hardwich; Mobile District, US Army Corps of Engineers, Wynne Fuller (Chief, Operations Division) and Danny Hensley (Project Manager, Alabama River Lakes); U.S. Coast Guard – Mobile Section, LT Kyle Perry (Waterways Management Chief, CG Sector Mobile); Shane Kearney, Economic Development Manager (Alabama Power Company Economic & Community Development); Energy Institute of Alabama, Speaker Seth Hammett (Chairman of EIA, VP of Business Development, PowerSouth); and Keith Gray, President (Gray Matter Consulting LLC). For a complete schedule: SCHEDULE
Sponsors of the CARIA Annual Meeting include: Alabama Power, PowerSouth, Alabama State Port Authority, Henry Marine Services, University of Alabama Center for Economic Development, Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission, Georgia Pacific-Alabama River Cellulose and the Selma & Dallas County Economic Development Authority.

In its 128th year, CARIA is a not-for-profit organization that believes in promoting the multipurpose use of waterways while protecting the ecological health of our river basins: the Alabama, the Coosa, and the Tallapoosa. CARIA was founded in 1890 by a group of Gadsden businessmen to promote river traffic between Gadsden and Rome, Georgia on the Coosa River. Adams and Reese serves in the role of association management.

CARIA Executive Director, Blake Hardwich is a government relations attorney with the law firm of Adams and Reese, joining the firm following her service as Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration for Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley. Hardwich has a broad range of public and private sector, developed both inside and outside the legal field. Her practice focuses on government relations, economic development and litigation.

Registration for the conference is available at: REGISTRATION or call 334.265.5744 or info@caria.org for additional information.