NRHC Annual Conference 2011
Portland, ME
March 31 - April 1, 2011

	Hotel Information Coming Soon!
NRHC Conference Rates:
Room Single Rate Double Rate   Triple Rate Quad Rate Run of House $.00 $.00 $.00 $.00 Double/Double Standard $.00 $.00 $.00 $.00

Conference Theme - Resurgam: To Rise Again

NRHC 2011 Conference Theme Statement

This Portland city motto (along with image of the Phoenix rising from ashes on the official city seal) celebrates the city's continued re-birth after destruction by British naval bombardment in the late 1700’s and a series of fires in the 1800’s. The final, great fire of 1866, killed only two people but destroyed the majority of city buildings, rendering thousands of residents homeless (who sought shelter in make-shift tents on the unscathed Munjoy Hill). The municipal government of the day insisted, henceforth, that all new buildings be made of brick and stone.  Renaissance-inspired master architects built many ornate Victorian-style homes and commercial buildings for Portland’s prosperous shipping industrialists. Only few well-constructed Federal-style buildings, such as the Custom’s House on the waterfront, survived the fire and remain standing today.

In other ways the city has been redeveloped, from a fishing village, to a shipping and manufacturing capital, to the current corporate & cultural hub of the state.  Industrial and maritime spaces have transformed into artist galleries, corporate offices and workspaces for the makers of computer games, hand-crafted furniture, clothing and artisan foods. To be sure, Portland continues to have a vibrant shipping port and fishing/ lobster industry. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland is the largest foreign inbound transit port in the northeast. A short stroll along Commercial Street will confirm this for any visitor.

For centuries Portland has been a draw for immigrants, refugees, and urban transplants seeking work.  The city is both affordable and stimulating….thus offering the promise of a new beginning for many. Townspeople from past to present have been described as creative, savvy, individualistic, entrepreneurial and passionate.  Among its notable past residents are poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, popular novelist Stephen King, film director John Ford and creator of the Teenager Ninja Mutant Turtles, Kevin Eastman (to name just a few).

Portland, the host of the 2011 NRHC Conference, encourages us to celebrate and explore concepts of resilience, redevelopment and renewal through scientific investigation, literary & cultural analysis, models of business innovation, and artistic expression. An understanding of the characteristics, processes, or antecedents underlying renewal may help us address some of the difficult challenges in today’s modern world.