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2008 LEADERS EMERGING ISSUES PROGRAM

Asheville, North Carolina
March 6-9, 2008

What a wonderful time we had in this charming town tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Our Friday started with a tour of The Thomas Wolfe Memorial, childhood home of esteemed author Thomas Wolfe - it was such a special experience.  Wolfe spent his childhood here and describes it as “The Old Kentucky Home” and “Dixieland” in his novel, Look Homeward Angel.  Our next stop on the tour was the Basilica of Saint Lawrence, a National Historic Site -  very inspirational and such a lot to absorb.  Our last stop before lunch was the Grove Arcade.  A beautiful Neo-Gothic architectural masterpiece with dozens of unique shops.  After our shopping experience, luncheon took place at Stovetrotter’s Demonstration Kitchen.  Sounds strange I know but....it was fabulous.  This is a Culinary School Bistro owned by one of the Kennedy Family’s former chefs and it was a most pleasant experience.

Our final stop for Friday was the Biltmore Estate Winery.  The nation’s most visited winery which is housed in Biltmore’s original dairy.  It has been renovated into a modern facility producing award-winning wines.  Last on our agenda was a narrated drive through the Montford Historic District.

Our evening event at The Biltmore House was so much fun - from the tour of “The House” right down to the quartet playing Blue Grass Music.

Our Saturday morning Spouses program took us to Black Mountain, the Front Porch of Western North Carolina.  Our fabulous guide, Ken pointed out significant places to shop or visit such as the Art Center or the Swannanoa Valley Museum.  Our final stop was the town of Montreat.  We visited the Chapel of the Prodigal which houses the internationally renowned fresco “The Return of the Prodigal” by Ben Long.

It was a great program but nothing compares to the warm comraderie of the Spouses.  It is always a very special time for me.  I look forward to seeing each of you hopefully at our Chicago Program, June 5 -8, 2008.

Roberta G. Duane
Program Director

Calendar

March 4 - 7, 2010

SLLF Issues Summit
Energy & Environmental Summit of the States
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA
Program Schedule (pdf)
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April 21, 2010

AC Forum
Roundtable discussion and reception in Washington, DC

June 16 - 20, 2010

National Speakers Conference
19th Annual Meeting
Annapolis, Maryland
Program Schedule
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August 18 - 22

Transatlantic Leadership Forum
Dublin, Ireland

July 12 - 15, 2010

Emerging Political Leaders Program
Darden Graduate School of Business Administration
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia

Sept. 30 - Oct. 3, 2010

SLLF Leadership Summit
Democracy 2.0: 
Connecting with the 21st Century American 
University of Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Program Schedule
Registration Form - Legislative Participants
Registration Form - Corporate Participants