2017 GPA Fall Conference in Review


Date :: September 27-29, 2017
Location :: Columbus Convention and Trade Center, Downtown Columbus, GA


GPA would like to thank everyone who attended the 2017 Fall Conference in Downtown Columbus. We had more than 300 planning professionals in attendance and fantastic participation in the mobile workshops.

GPA would like to extend a special thank you to the following individuals for welcoming GPA members to Columbus and making this conference a huge success.

  • Rick Jones, City of Columbus
  • Will Johnson, City of Columbus
  • Patti Cullen, River Valley Regional Commission
  • Julio Portillo, River Valley Regional Commission
  • Allison Slocum, River Valley Regional Commission
  • Jim Livingston, River Valley Regional Commission

For AICP planners – if you would like to log your CM credits, the conference sessions are available on the APA website now, so please log in to your account and enter credits for the sessions you attended. The majority of the presentations from the conference breakout sessions are posted on the archived 2017 Fall GPA Conference page.


Fall Conference Keynote Speaker

This year’s Keynote Speaker was Dr. Kari Watkins, P.E., the Frederick Law Olmsted Associate Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech. Dr. Watkins co-created the award-winning OneBusAway program, a real-time transit information tool for riders in greater Seattle-Tacoma. Dr. Watkins is currently exploring cyclist infrastructure preferences through the Cycle Atlanta crowdsourcing program. Her keynote address focused on Complete Streets.


Welcome Reception

The Conference Welcome Reception took place on Wednesday, September 27th from 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM at the 14th Street Bridge.

Live music, hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer, and plenty of opportunities for networking and connecting with your fellow planners from around the state were enjoyed. A free trolley was available to transport attendees between the Columbus Convention and Trade Center and the reception.


Young Planners Group Reception

After the Awards Dinner, planners of ALL ages were invited to the YPG reception on Thursday, September 28th from 8:30 PM – 12:00 AM. The reception took place at Nonic, located at 1239 Broadway in Downtown Columbus.


Conference Presentations


Conference Sponsors

 

GOLD

 

 

SILVER

 

BRONZE