Atlanta, Georgia

Conference: October 8-10

Exhibits: October 8-9

OSIs, 5K & Golf

Explore Atlanta with fellow NRPA Annual Conference attendees.

2024 Local Host Committee (LHC) Events

Golf Tournament

11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Monday, October 7

Browns Mill Golf Course

The 2024 NRPA Annual Golf Tournament will be played at the Browns Mill Golf Course located at 480 Cleveland Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30354 — just 9 miles from the World Congress Center. Club rentals by Callaway Golf will be available for an additional $40 per golfer (this fee is to be paid on-site) – please let us know ahead of time to secure your rental. This tournament will be played as a 4-person team scramble on Monday, October 7, with an 11 a.m. Shotgun Start. If you have a team, awesome! Just be sure to let us know so we can pair you all together. If you don’t have a team and need to be paired with other golfers, that’s fine too. We will pair you up with others to form a team. Your registration fee includes 18 holes of golf, range balls, lunch, a goodie bag, a chance to win hole prizes and plenty of refreshments. You’ll also have an opportunity to purchase mulligan/raffle packages the day of, so be sure to bring a little spending cash! There will be more info to come as this tournament draws closer, and we promise to keep you updated as it does. If you have any questions and/or need additional information between now and the tournament, please contact the City of Atlanta’s General Manager of Golf Services, Mr. Jeff King at jsking@atlantaga.gov and the City of Jefferson Director of Parks & Recreation, Mr. Fenton Morris at fmorris@cityofjeffersonga.com.

Shuttles will be provided from the Convention Center.  Lunch is provided and rental clubs can be requested.

www.cityofatlantagolf.com/browns-mill-golf-course/

Cost: $100

Welcome to Atlanta Reception

6:30 p.m. 

Monday, October 7

Atlanta City Hall Atrium

Welcome to the A! Join Mayor Andre Dickens and the City of Atlanta for a Welcome Party you’ll never forget. Monday, October 7 at THE City of Atlanta Atrium! Come out and join us for live entertainment, food, cocktails and so much more. Don’t miss the chance to kick off your conference experience with us.

Free – ticket required (Add during registration process)

5K Fun Run, Walk or Roll

8 a.m. to 10 a.m. 

Thursday, October 10

Atlanta Beltline Trail

Welcome to Atlanta! It is the proud host of the Peachtree Road Race, the world’s largest 10K event. The upcoming NRPA 5K route in 2024 will take you through Atlanta’s Beltline Trail, offering stunning views of the city’s skyline and its other attractions.  Once you cross the finish line, you can enjoy music and snacks as part of the post-race celebrations. All the participants will be provided with a customized bib, a race t-shirt*, and a 2024 NRPA 5K finisher medal.  Please note that t-shirt sizes are available on a first-come, first-served basis at bib pickup. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to be a part of this amazing event! See you at the starting line!

$40

Local Host Committee T-Shirt

Celebrate and remember the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference with this one-of-a-kind shirt from the Local Host Committee. Shirts can be pre-ordered for $30 and picked up at conference. A limited number of shirts will be available for purchase on site for $40. Order now at: bit.ly/atl2024shirts

 

2024 Off-Site Institutes (OSIs)

OSI #1: Alpharetta/Roswell/Forsyth County Big Creek Greenway and Amenities Tour

8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Monday, October 7

The Big Creek Greenway is a multi-use trail through three governmental jurisdictions: City of Roswell, City of Alpharetta and Forsyth County, totaling 26 miles.  The Greenway follows Big Creek and connects many neighborhoods, business districts, parks and natural areas.  This OSI will allow participants to enjoy the Greenway and learn lessons from each jurisdiction concerning construction, maintenance, programming, conservation and environmental issues.  The ride along the Greenway will be via Class II electric bikes furnished by Pedigo Bikes of Alpharetta.  Participants will also choose from one of two tours of local interest:  Roswell’s four Historic Homes or Forsyth’s Sawnee Mountain Preserve Park.  This OSI will divide into two groups — one group will ride the Greenway in the morning and tour in the afternoon, while the second group will tour in the morning and ride the Greenway in the afternoon.

0.4 CEUs

Cost: Member $50 / Nonmember $70

OSI #2: Old Growth and Beyond! Conservation and Natural Resources in Gwinnett Parks

8 a.m. to 3 p.m.  

Monday, October 7

Adventure awaits participants as they migrate from urban parks to undeveloped greenspaces, exploring what environmental stewardship means at every scale. Gwinnett will highlight the effort that goes into protecting, enhancing and managing these precious greenspaces.  During this hands-on session, members will participate in mist net trapping of songbirds in an urban setting while also learning about the invaluable partnership with Georgia Gwinnett College students. Participants will see the results of decades of conservation easements, protecting priceless forests, meadows and cultural resources in Little Mulberry Park. The trip ends with an exclusive guided hike through an undeveloped greenspace, highlighting the importance of partnerships with experts to understand the natural world around us. This OSI is for able-bodied participants who can walk approximately two to three miles with mild elevation changes.

0.2 CEUs

Cost: Member $50 / Nonmember $70

OSI #3: Park Partnerships

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Monday, October 7

While visiting Red Top Mountain State Park, enjoy a sampling of ranger-led education and recreational programs offered in Georgia’s State Parks and Historic Sites. Learn the importance of community support through the partnership with the Friends of Georgia State Parks support organization. The off-site visit will include a “hop-on, hop-off” hayride along a section of the park known as “Iron Hill.” We will showcase five interactive stations that attendees can enjoy at their own pace. Presentations will include: a living history demonstration of the Atlanta military history, a pewter pour to demonstrate how the rich iron minerals were extracted and used by early settlers, how to build successful events while supporting your organization’s mission through volunteerism, and an opportunity to try your hand at some wilderness survival skills through starting a fire with flint and steel. Presentations will be presented by park rangers, and Friends of Georgia State Parks volunteers and board members.

0.1 CEUs

Cost: Member $70 / Nonmember $90

OSI #5: Discover Historic Oakland Cemetery – A View from the Inside

8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

Monday, October 7

Historic Oakland Cemetery, a 48-acre City of Atlanta Park and National Historic Landmark, is the city’s first public greenspace and original cemetery. Today the verdant 48-acres are an arboretum, public garden, nationally recognized historic site and vital community resource that welcomes more than 150,000 visitors annually.   This all-day experience will take you behind the scenes of the Historic Oakland Foundation’s and City of Atlanta’s 50-year partnership to preserve, restore, enhance and share Oakland Cemetery as a vibrant public park that elevates diversity, equity, inclusion and access in all facets of the cemetery’s operations and programming. During your visit you’ll learn about community-centric programmatic offerings, historically appropriate sustainable horticulture, current best practices in cemetery preservation, and hear first-hand how a historic cemetery can become a premiere public park, greenspace and tourist attraction.

0.3 CEUs

Cost: Member $75 / Nonmember $95

OSI #6: Westside Park Tour

8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Monday, October 7

This tour will include stops at three City of Atlanta parks on Atlanta’s Westside: Rodney Cook, Sr. Park; Westside Park and Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park. Each stop will include background, history and interpretation provided by local resident advocates, Park Pride staff and City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation and Trust for Public Land. This tour will highlight a large-scale green infrastructure plan initiated by Park Pride in 2010 that has provided a blueprint for neighborhood revitalization that addresses blighted property, chronic flooding and years of historic disinvestment. Partners to be included: Atlanta Parks and Recreation, Westside Future Fund, Trust for Public Land, Alliance for the Activation of Cook Park, engaged community activists and Friends of the Park groups.

0.2 CEUs

Cost: Member $50 / Nonmember: $70

OSI #7: Chattahoochee RiverLands

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Monday, October 7

The Chattahoochee RiverLands is an expansive effort to connect 19 metro Atlanta cities and seven counties into a seamless public space for 100 miles, along the Chattahoochee River, between Buford Dam and Chattahoochee Bend State Park. In 2020, the Atlanta Regional Commission, Trust for Public Land, City of Atlanta and Cobb County published the Chattahoochee RiverLands Study, which recounts two years of public engagement and outlines the bold vision for 120 miles of greenway trails, 100 miles of a blueway trail, thousands of acres of restored public lands, and nearly 30 parks. Since publication, more than $250 million in public and philanthropic funding has been committed to build this generational project.  This institute will highlight the beginning of the pilot project of the trail and the advancements made to date.  A walking tour of the Riverlands Pilot Project, along with a tour of Discovery Park at the RiverLine, with experts in the field of the project will be one part of the institute.

0.3 CEUs

Cost: Member $50 / Nonmember $70

OSI #8: Gwinnett’s Incredible Water Journey!

9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Monday, October 7

The group will visit the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center, the Water Tower Water Innovation Center and the F. Wayne Hill Wastewater Treatment Center (all three sites share a 700-acre camps adjacent to the Mall of Georgia). Participants will discover how Gwinnett Community Services partners with multiple groups to preserve, protect and provide educational opportunities connected to water and the natural environment.  The visit will include an immersive experience in the multi-sensory Blue Planet Theater, some play time in the STEAM Lab, a unique walk among the tree canopy on an elevated platform designed for those with mobility and sensory impairments, and unique tours of Gwinnett’s new Water Innovation Center and the F. Wayne Hill Wastewater Treatment facility, where millions of gallons of water are reclaimed each day.

0.2 CEUs

Cost: Member $50 / Nonmember $70

OSI #9: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (“The King Center”)

9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Monday, October 7

This OSI will introduce participants to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (“The King Center”), established in 1968 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King, is a global destination, resource center and community institution for more than a quarter century. The King Center is a 501(c)3.  More than a million people visit this National Historic Site. The King Center engages its community through educational and community programs.

0.2 CEUs

Cost: Member $70 / Nonmember $90

OSI #10: Atlanta BeltLine Tour

8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Friday, October 11

Ryan Gravel wrote a graduate thesis, titled “Belt Line — Atlanta: Design of Infrastructure as a Reflection of Public Policy,” that proposed reclaiming a 22-mile (35-kilometer) ring of mostly abandoned and underused rail corridor and transforming it into a new public transit system combined with economic development and connectivity strategies. It inspired a grassroots movement to build the most ambitious public works project in the city’s history: the Atlanta BeltLine.  The completed Atlanta BeltLine will encircle the city’s core with pedestrian- and bicyclist-friendly shared-use paths that are replacing the rail lines and connecting to parks and transit. The transit cars will be able to accommodate bicycles, and the shared-use paths will help reduce highway congestion by decreasing the number of short-distance motor vehicle trips.   To date, roughly 11 miles of the trail system are open, including permanent paved trails and temporary hiking trails.

0.3 CEUs

Cost: Member $80 / Nonmember $100