Township Convention Set to Feature Gov. Rendell, Archie Manning
Sunday, April 6 - Wednesday, April 9

Gov. Ed Rendell, four state cabinet secretaries, and former NFL quarterback Archie Manning are among the speakers scheduled to address nearly 4,700 elected and appointed township officials, exhibitors, and guests attending the 81st Annual State Convention of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors April 6-9 at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center in Hershey.

Township officials from across the state will meet in Hershey these four days to share ideas about important local government issues, listen to speakers discuss topics that affect townships, and adopt resolutions that will guide the association in its legislative endeavors in Harrisburg.
Since the association was created by an act of the legislature in 1921, PSATS' member townships have convened once a year at the annual state convention to receive training, elect officers, and establish association policy.

Sunday, April 6
On Sunday, the PSATS trade show, held each year in conjunction with the state convention, gets under way at noon. For the next 2½ days, more than 260 exhibitors will display their products and services to township officials at the largest municipal trade show in Pennsylvania.

Sunday afternoon provides a good opportunity for the news media to interview township officials, take photographs, and shoot news footage as township officials talk to exhibitors about new products and services that could benefit their township.

Also on Sunday, Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff will host a special visitation to a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in Lancaster at 1:00 p.m. The goal of the visit is to provide a better awareness and understanding of what CAFOs are and how they operate. The tour is free and open to township officials interested in gaining first-hand information about these controversial farming facilities.


Monday, April 7
Motivational speaker Mark Towers will get the convention officially under way with a talk on "Icons, Heroes, and Everyday Thinkers" at 9:15 a.m. in the Chocolate Ballroom. After Towers' remarks, Toby Burke, associate director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, will take the stage at 9:35.

At 9:50 a.m., PSATS will present its prestigious Founder's Award posthumously to its immediate past president, Dr. Richard Derstine, supervisor of West Rockhill Township, Bucks County, at the time of his death last November. The Founder's Award recognizes individuals or
groups whose outstanding efforts on behalf of local governments have resulted in significant benefits
to townships.

At 10:05 a.m., PSATS President Edward Goodhart III will address the audience, after which delegates will have the opportunity to attend morning workshops starting at 10:30, including ones on grassroots lobbying, preserving community character, and road construction and maintenance.

Township officials will spend Monday afternoon in workshops that cover such topics as the state's new Open Records Law, open space preservation, cable franchise renewal, smart growth,
water quality and quantity issues, how to protect township infrastructure, and multimunicipal planning.

At 7:30 p.m., PSATS will hold an information session on the Uniform Construction Code. A
panel of experts will update township officials on changes to the code's administrative and enforcement regulations and provide information on multimunicipal agreements for townships that will be opting in to enforce the code. The program will conclude with a question-and answer-session.

Tuesday, April 8
Tuesday morning's session will begin at 9:10 a.m. with an address by Kathleen McGinty, state secretary of Environmental Protection. Dennis Yablonsky, state secretary of Community and Economic Development, will speak at 9:30 a.m., followed by Lancaster-based media trainer and professional speaker Soni Dimond. Dimond will address the audience at 10:25 a.m. on the topic, "Working the Room and Making the Room Work for You."

Also during Tuesday's general session, delegates will elect new officers and vote on resolutions that will set policy for the association in pursuing legislation and regulations favorable to townships.

Tuesday afternoon's workshops will cover such topics as concentrated animal feeding operations, emergency response management, innovative farmland preservation techniques, stormwater management, greenways, onlot septic management, economic development, and identifying community priorities.

Wednesday, April 9
Gov. Ed Rendell is scheduled to appear before convention delegates at 11:25 Wednesday morning, April 9. Other speakers will include Jim Lombardo, executive director of the Governor's Center for Local Government Services, at 9:10; Allen Biehler, state secretary of Transportation, at 9:30; and Stephen Schmerin, state secretary of Labor & Industry, at 9:45. Archie Manning, former NFL quarterback and one-time league MVP will share his "Principles for Success" at 10:25 a.m. The convention will adjourn at noon.

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The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors represents Pennsylvania's 1,457 townships of the second class and is committed to preserving and strengthening township government and securing greater visibility and involvement for townships in the state and federal political arenas. Townships of the second class represent more residents - 5.1 million Pennsylvanians - than any other type of political subdivision in the commonwealth.
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