Tom's Travels

I flew to Regina, Saskatchewan on June 22 to give a presentation at a seminar sponsored by the Saskatchewan Council for Community Development. The seminar was held in conjunction with the National Farm Progress Show that was being held at the Exhibition Grounds in Regina. I arrived mid-day on Thursday so I rented a car and drove to Moose Jaw. The annual parade was on so I was able to visit with several of my aunts and uncles. On Friday, my brother, sister-in-law, mother and father drove to Regina and met me before the seminar. We spent some time touring the Progress Show. After the seminar I drove to Moose Jaw and took in the last of Andy Schmitz's annual conference and visited with people I knew at the reception. On Saturday I visited family at the farm. Sunday morning I headed for the Regina Airport at 4:00 am.

On Sunday June 11, I returned from Slovenia and went directly to Mystic, Connecticut to attend the annual meetings of the Northeast Agricultural and Resource Economics Association. The meetings were held on Monday and Tuesday, and a workshop was held on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning on the rural creative economy. I gave an invited address to the NAREA meetings and attended the workshop. Both were well worth attending.

I got out one afternoon and found three geocaches in a lovely nature preserve not far from the convention center.

On Thursday June 6 I flew to Ljubljana, Slovenia to attend the fourth meeting of the TOPMARD group. From Ljubljana we were driven up to a ski resort in the Alps. Photo one is the view from our hotel.

On the afternoon of the 6th several of us hiked up into the mountains, following a beautiful stream. (See photo 2).

Our meetings were held the next two days and then on Saturday the 11th we took a field trip through the region, visiting several entrepreneurial developments.






The photo to the left was taken at a community center in the study area. The TOPMARD team was transformed into an orchestra.On the 12th, I flew back to the US.

On Thursday June 1, I flew up to Winnipeg to give a talk to the North American Super Corridor Coalition. I spoke about US rural policies. I met several former students and colleagues from my days at the University of Saskatchewan. I also had a nice visit with Otto Lang, former MP. I stayed only one night and flew back to Missouri on Friday.