2010 Travois Conference
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The 10th Annual Travois Indian Country Tax Credit Conference is going to be our best ever! We are celebrating 15 years in business in 2010 and have big plans for this year's conference. This year's theme is the "art of housing and economic development," and conference sessions will cover Indian Country housing, economic development, asset management and design and inspection topics. |
Tuesday, Aug. 31 - Thursday, Sept. 2
Marriott Country Club Plaza
4445 Main St.
Kansas City, MO 64111
Online registration is now closed. Please call Beth Heap at 816-994-8970 if you'd like to register, and we will try to accommodate you.
Please click on the links below to be directed to each section.
Who should attend?
New this year
Hotel accommodations, directions and ground transportation
Registration - now closed
Keynote speaker and other speakers
Artist information and registration
Conference schedule
Conference sponsors
Cancellation policy
Kansas City attractions
Who should attend?
Tribal members who work in housing and economic development, including:
- Tribal housing authority staff – executive directors, occupancy and resident services staff
- Tribal housing board members
- Tribal council members
- Tribal economic development staff
- Tribal college presidents, administrators and finance staff
Tax credit support staff:
- Tax credit investors and syndicators
- Accountants
- Tax credit attorneys
- Market analysts
- Surveyors and engineers
New this year
- Conference sessions will be held over three days beginning Tuesday morning and ending Thursday afternoon. A welcome reception and karaoke night will be held Tuesday evening.
- Attendees who would like to sit down for one-on-one sessions will be able to schedule appointments for “office hours” on Friday, Sept. 3. This day is optional.
- American Indian artists and craftspeople who wish to sell their works to conference attendees are welcome. Space is available for rental on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, see below or contact Brandi Jones at 816-994-8970 or bjones@travois.com.
Hotel accommodations, directions and ground transportation
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The room block at the Marriott Country Club Plaza has expired, but rooms are still available. Call 1-800-810-3708 or click here to make a room reservation. Attendees are responsible for booking their travel, transportation and hotel accommodations. To download a fact sheet about the Marriott that includes directions from the airport to the hotel, click here. Taxi, shuttle and rental car services are available at the Kansas City International Airport. A taxi is estimated to cost $50, and a shuttle ride is estimated to cost $18. Click here for more information. |
Registration
Regular registration fee = $350 (July 31-Friday, Aug. 27)
The registration fee covers entrance to the welcome reception, breakfast and lunch on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, all materials and an attendee gift.
Online registration is now closed. Please call Beth Heap at 816-994-8970 if you'd like to register, and we will try to accommodate you.
To download a printable registration form, click here. Payment can be mailed to the Kansas City, Mo., address listed on the form.
All registrants will receive a confirmation e-mail from Travois once their registration and payment have been received. This confirmation will be sent to the e-mail that is provided through registration. If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail and you have registered and paid, please contact Beth Heap at bheap@travois.com or 816-994-8970.
Keynote speaker and other speakers
Pictured on right: Crow Ponies 2 © Kevin Red Star
Kevin Red Star, an acclaimed Crow painter and printmaker whose works have been featured in exhibitions around the world, will be our keynote speaker and will speak at the Sept. 1 luncheon. He has been commissioned to create a work of art for a commemorative poster that will be given to each conference attendee.
Mr. Red Star was born on the Crow Indian Reservation in Lodge Grass, Mont. He was raised in a family that values art and culture, where he developed an early love of drawing and music. This exposure and encouragement sustained him during his years in grade school during the time when Crow students were denied association with their language and cultural heritage. Later, when he was one of 150 students chosen to attend the newly established Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M., he was encouraged to explore his history and culture through modern art techniques.
Upon graduation, Mr. Red Star and several other Native students received scholarships to the San Francisco Art Institute. Here he was exposed to the avant garde and political and social concerns of post-modern art. Since embarking on his professional artistic journey, Mr. Red Star is considered a visual historian and ambassador for his Native Crow culture. In 1997, Kevin Red Star received an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Fine Art from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont.
His works are the focal point of several important museum collections, including The Smithsonian Institution - National Museum of the American Indian, Heard Museum, Denver Art Museum, Whitney Gallery of Western Art and many others. Pursuing a successful career spanning three decades, over 100 large scale exhibitions have featured his works on canvas and paper. For more information, please visit Mr. Red Star’s Web site.
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Gaylord Torrence will discuss the new American Indian galleries at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art during the conference luncheon on Tuesday, Aug. 31.
Mr. Torrence is the Fred and Virginia Merrill Senior Curator of American Indian Art at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Professor Emeritus in Fine Arts, Drake University. He is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on American Indian art and is the author of "The American Indian Parfleche: A Tradition of Abstract Painting," regarded as a landmark study and publication in the field of American Indian art history. Mr. Torrence received an M.F.A. in painting from Michigan State University. Throughout his tenure at Drake, he headed the studio drawing area and, beginning in 1975, developed a program of North American Indian art history, one of the first in the country.
He joined the staff of the Nelson-Atkins in 2002 as founding curator of the Department of American Indian Art and led the museum’s major installation of new American Indian galleries, which opened in November 2009. For more information about the galleries, click here.
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Eli Paul, vice president of museum programs at the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial and editor of "Autobiography of Red Cloud: war leader of the Oglalas," will speak during the conference luncheon on Thursday, Sept. 2.
Mr. Paul is a graduate of the University of Missouri and George Washington University. He spent the majority of his museum career at the Nebraska State Historical Society. His work crisscrossed the areas of historic site administration, exhibition development, research and publications. In 1999 he became the museum director of the Heinz History Center, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, and in 2003 took a similar position with the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Mo. His publications include five books and a couple dozen articles for historical journals, most of them on such American Indian subjects as the Wounded Knee massacre, Crazy Horse, Red Cloud and the first Sioux war.
Artist information and registration
Given the conference’s focus on art, Travois is offering space for American Indian artists and craftspeople to exhibit and sell their work. We will set aside a room adjacent to the conference area for these booths.
The fee to rent space is $100 per person. This fee will also allow artists to each lunch with conference attendees and attend the Tuesday, Aug. 31 welcome reception at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
For more information, rules and registration requirements, please click here to download a PDF.
Conference schedule
Tuesday, Aug. 31
| 7:30-8:30 a.m. | Breakfast and registration |
| 8:30-9 a.m. | Opening and welcome | Main ballroom |
| 9 a.m.-lunch | Financing Housing & Economic Development - Joint Session | Main ballroom |
| Noon | Luncheon presentation by Curator Gaylord Torrence | Main ballroom |
| 1:30-2 p.m. | Celebrating Travois' 15th Anniversary | Main ballroom |
| 2-3 p.m. | Design & Construction Services Showcase (final session of day)| Main ballroom |
| 5-7 p.m. | Welcome reception at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art | A free shuttle will run from 4:45-7:15 p.m. |
| 8 p.m. | Karaoke Night at Jardine's Restaurant and Jazz Club, located across the street from the Marriott |
Wednesday, Sept. 1
| 7:30-8:30 a.m. | Breakfast and registration |
| 8:30-10 a.m. | Housing Track - Introduction to Asset Management and Preparing for On-site Inspections | Main ballroom |
| 8:30-10 a.m. | Economic Development Track - Case Study: Jemez Pueblo's HōKhēēwhă’ă Solar Development | Breakout room |
| 10-11 a.m. | Housing Track - Asset Management session continues | Main ballroom |
| 10-11 a.m. | Economic Development Track - Introduction to CDFI Fund's Native Initiatives | Breakout room |
| 11 a.m.-noon | Housing and Economic Development Policy Update - Joint Session | Main ballroom |
| Noon | Keynote luncheon presentation by Crow artist Kevin Red Star | Main ballroom |
| 1:30-2:30 p.m. | Housing and Economic Development Investor Environment Panel - Joint Session | Main ballroom |
| 2:30 p.m. | Wheel of Fortune game | Main ballroom |
Thursday, Sept. 2
| 7:30-8:30 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 8:30-10 a.m. | Housing Track - The Development Experience | Main ballroom |
| 8:30-10 a.m. | Economic Development Track - Case study: Bois Forte Community and Government Services Facility | Breakout room |
| 10-11 a.m. | Housing Track - LIHTC Reporting Requirements & Accounting: General Guidelines | Main ballroom |
| 10-11 a.m. | Economic Development Track - Introduction to Kauffman Foundation's UEP | Breakout room |
| 11 a.m.-noon | Housing Track - Staff Best Practices | Main ballroom |
| 11 a.m.-noon | Economic Development Track - Project Rating and Compliance Overview | Breakout room |
| Noon | Luncheon presentation by Eli Paul of the National World War I Museum and editor of the Red Cloud autobiography | Main ballroom |
| 1 p.m. | Raffle drawing, closing | Main ballroom |
Friday, Sept. 3
- Appointments for "office hours" with Travois staff members may be set up in advance. Please indicate interest when registering.
Conference sponsors
Travois gratefully acknowledges the following Gold Sponsors:
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Cancellation policy
In the event of a cancellation between today and Friday, Aug. 13, Travois, Inc. will retain $10 to cover its costs and will refund the remaining registration fee. If a cancellation is requested after Friday, Aug. 13 and through Wednesday, Aug. 25, Travois, Inc. will retain $50 to cover its costs and will refund the remaining registration fee.
Any cancellations made after Wednesday, Aug. 25 will not be refunded.
Substitutions without penalty may be made up until Friday, Aug. 27.
Contact Beth Heap at bheap@travois.com or 816-994-8970 to make a substitution or cancellation.
Hotel rooms reserved through the Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza will need to be canceled separately through the hotel. Please call 1-800-810-3708 for the Marriott's cancellation policy.
Kansas City attractions (with distance from conference hotel)
Pictured left to right: Shopping on the Country Club Plaza; Kansas City skyline; The famous J.C. Nichols Fountain on the Plaza. Photos courtesy of the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Bureau.
An energetic city forged by a rich history, Kansas City is brimming with activities to keep you entertained—eclectic cuisine, swinging jazz, one-of-a-kind museums, a thriving arts scene and fantastic shopping. Part of the city’s charm lies in its impressive network of parks and boulevards and of course, exquisite fountains. The world-renowned jazz legacy continues today in clubs throughout the city. For barbecue lovers, the city’s signature food can be found at more than 100 barbecue establishments, but visitors also delight in restaurants of every ethnic origin. Pack your bags and discover something unique and unexpected in Kansas City.
- Country Club Plaza (0.4 miles from hotel) - This 14-square-block outdoor shopping and entertainment district is filled with romantic Spanish architecture, European art and dazzling fountains. Designed in 1922, the Plaza features boutiques and fashionable national stores as well as distinctive restaurants, outdoor cafes and nightlife hotspots.
- Westport (0.6 miles) - Westport’s 19th-century charm has been kept intact with historic buildings, old-style lampposts and tree-lined boulevards. The area features fun and funky shops, diverse restaurants and a variety of bars and clubs.
- The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (0.3 miles)- Kansas City's world class art museum features 34,500 pieces in its collection and boosts the newly debuted American Indian galleries, an outdoor sculpture garden, two restaurants and a gift shop. Free admission.
- Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art (directly east of hotel) - Since opening in 1994, the museum has become a leader among modern and contemporary art museums in America. Its celebrated Café Sebastienne serves lunch, dinner and brunch. Free admission.
- National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial (2 miles) - The WWI Museum is the only American museum solely dedicated to preserving the objects, history and personal experiences of a war whose impact still echoes in our world today.
- Crown Center (2.7 miles) - Home to the international headquarters of Hallmark Cards, Crown Center offers more than 60 shops and restaurants.
- Crossroads Arts District - First Friday art exhibitions on Sept. 3 (3 miles) - Art galleries, retailers and other participating art venues located in the district showcase art from 7-9 p.m. Free.
- Kansas City Power & Light District (3.5 miles) - The largest new development project in the Midwest has reenergized downtown, creating an entertainment, retail and dining hot spot for visitors and conventioneers.
- Sprint Center and College Basketball Experience entertainment facility(3.7 miles) - Connected to the new Sprint Center via a common lobby, the 41,500-square-foot entertainment facility contains hands-on, interactive basketball exhibits and houses the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
- 18th and Vine Historic Jazz District: American Jazz Museum and Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (4.2 miles) - The American Jazz Museum pays tribute to America's top jazz musicians. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum re-creates the look, feel and sounds of Negro Leagues Baseball from the 1860s to the 1950s.
- Kauffman Stadium - Kansas City Royals have home games Aug. 30-Sept. 1 (5.4 miles) - Home of the Royals, the stadium is heralded as one of the most beautiful ballparks in the world. See the breathtaking fountains, taste the mouthwatering barbecue and experience Major League fun.
- Kansas City Zoo (7 miles) - The zoo features more than 200 acres of adventure and 1,000 animals in naturalistic settings.