102st Annual Meeting of the NNGA
Accommodations, Tours & Highlights
July 17 - 21, 2011
Utah State University (USU) in Logan, Utah
Information provided by Tim Ford for the Local Arrangements Team
Things to Do and See |
Special Events |
CAP Activities |
Meals |
Lodging |
Parking |
Emergencies
Cookies |
Show and Tell |
Auction |
Exhibits |
Group Photo |
Travel/directions |
Weather
Agenda |
Registration
The 102nd Annual Meeting of the Northern Nut Growers Association will be held at Utah State University (USU) in Logan, Utah from July 17 to July 21, 2011. Our Local Arrangements Chair is Tim Ford, who is with Improving Perennial Plants for Food and Bioenergy, Inc. (IPPFBE). He is assisted by Joy Brisighella, USU Program Coordinator. Presentations and meetings will take place at the Eccles Conference Center at the heart of the USU campus, overlooking scenic Cache Valley, Utah. On-campus housing for participants is located within easy walking distance of the dining area and conference center. The annual meeting begins with a board meeting at 10:00 am on Sunday, July 17. Everyone is invited to attend and participate in this important meeting. Following registration and check-in Sunday afternoon, join us for a welcome mixer and barbeque at 6:30 pm at the American West Heritage Center, followed by the ever popular Show and Tell. The schedule for nut growers on Monday begins with the Annual NNGA Business Meeting, followed by a full day technical presentations. A second, full day of technical presentations is scheduled for Tuesday and an all-day field trip is planned for Wednesday. There will be plenty of information on many species of nut trees including pecans, Persian and black walnuts, pines, hazelnuts, chestnuts, almonds and apricots. There will also be a special session on black walnuts and thousand-canker disease. Due to Thousand Canker Disease, no Juglans species wood, bark or plant material of any kind will be allowed at the meeting. The 19th Annual Research Fund Auction will be held Monday evening following dinner, and the annual Banquet and elections are scheduled for Tuesday evening. CAP tours are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, and a second all-day field trip is planned for Thursday. The exhibit area will be open on both Monday and Tuesday. THINGS TO DO AND SEE Logan has small-town charm with big-city amenities. If you have any free time in the days preceeding or following the Annual Meeting, you can enjoy fine dining, live theater performances, unique shopping, art galleries, local honey and cheese outlets, and a host of outdoor activities including:
The Cache Valley Gardeners' Market features local produce and original artisan goods on Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm at Merlin Olsen Park in Logan. Additionally, Logan is close to Yellowstone National Park as well as numerous other federal and state parks. Mark your calendars now and plan to attend. SPECIAL EVENTS Sunday Social--Bar-B-Q. Sunday evening's welcome mixer and barbeque will be held at the American West Heritage Center which sits at the foot of the majestic Wellsville Mountains and offers a variety of historical and heritage-related activities and exhibits in a breathtaking setting. The evening's menu, which features "Local Fare with a Local Flair," includes Barbecued Pork Sandwiches, Dutch Oven Potatoes, Mixed Green Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Onion with Ranch Dressing or Apple Cider Vinaigrette, Corn on the Cob, Tart Cherry Cobbler, and Cranberry and Lemon Infused Water Punch. You'll be lucky if you can walk after this feast! Tuesday--Banquet. Our annual Banquet will be held in the USU Skyroom Restaurant which is located on the top floor of the Taggart Student Center. Executive Chef Richard Peterson is a Cache Valley native who formalized his culinary career at the Western Culinary Institute in Portland Oregon. He graduated with honors and specializes in menu development and classical food presentation. Our banquet menu features a buffet with local produce and two premium entrees: Pistachio-Crusted Chicken with Pear Butter Sauce and Ginger Glazed Salmon Fillet-dessert is your choice of pecan pie, peach pie or apple pie with walnuts. Sides include roasted Idaho potatoes, vegetable, tossed salad, and dinner rolls. Brian Peterson, an accomplished local pianist and music educator will play classical background music on the Grand Piano during our dinner. The evening's keynote address by Lee DeeHaan from the Land Institute will be on "Prairie Ecosystems and The Succession to Trees." Wednesday-- NNGA Field Trip. Wednesday's field trip will feature tours of IPPFBE research sites. We will depart USU at 8:00 am and travel through beautiful Cache Valley to Richmond, Utah. Our first stop in Richmond will highlight some Persian and Black Walnut and hazelnut breeding and selection work at the "Bean Patch" and "Springhil" locations. The tour will then continue to the Dayton, Idaho research site where Black Walnuts, hybrids, and several other species will be discussed. A grafting demonstration will be conducted by Dr. Thomas Molnar and Tucker Hill. Our final stop will be in Thatcher, Utah where we will look at and discuss IFPPBE's apricot, almond, pistachio, and apple breeding and selection work. With a little luck we might be able to sample the best tasting apricots in Utah! The bus will then return to USU around 5:30 pm. Box lunches, water and soda pop will be provided. Thursday-Additional NNGA Field Trip. The second all-day field trip on Thursday will be to the USU Botanical Center, Red Butte Garden and Arboretum, and Cottam's Grove. Box lunches, drinks, and bus transportation will be provided. We will depart USU at 8:00 am and travel through beautiful Sardine Canyon to the USU Botanical Center where we will be given a tour by the curator. Located on a 100-acre site dedicated to conservation, education, research and outreach, the Center houses the recently completed Utah House, a model sustainable home and landscape. The Center also hosts the Rasmussen Teaching Garden and the Varga Arboretum. The Teaching Garden showcases beautiful plantings that offer seasonally changing colors and textures; the Varga Arboretum with its nearly 200 varieties of trees and shrubs grouped according to their water requirements is a living catalog of landscape choices for dry western climates. We'll eat our box lunches at either the Utah House or the Education Center by the wetlands research area. The tour will then continue to Red Butte Garden and Arboretum (www.redbuttegarden.org/), and from there to Cottam's Grove, which was developed by the famous University of Utah botanist, Dr. Walter Cottam, who spent his life working with trees, particularly hybridizing oaks. We will return to USU around 5:30 pm. Rudy Drobnik, Dr. Walter Cottam's graduate student, scholar, colleague and discoverer of the hybrid oak will give the keynote address on July 21 during the tour of Cottam's Grove at Red Butte Gardens, titled "Chronology of Research Pertinent to the Relic Hybrid Oak (Quercus pauciloba RYDB)." This is quite an honor and we are glad to have him. About Cottam's Grove. Dr. Walter P. Cottam, co-founder of The Nature Conservancy and chairman of the Botany Department at the University of Utah, began using campus land for plant research in 1930. For more than 30 years he evaluated plants to determine their adaptability to our region. In 1961, the Utah State Legislature formally recognized Cottam's impressive collection by designating the University's campus landscape as the State Arboretum. The original legislation mandated that the Arboretum "provide resources and facilities for cultivating a greater knowledge and public appreciation for the trees and plants around us, as well as those growing in remote sections of the country and world." The area is commonly called Cottam's Grove now. Dr. Cottam authored many scientific papers and a book that is particularly interesting, "Why Hurry Through Heaven." CAP ACTIVITIES Monday--CAP Tour. Monday's CAP Tour will depart USU at 8:00 am for Salt Lake City and a guided tour of the Latter Day Saint's (Mormon) Temple Square and Tabernacle (the Choir may be practicing). The tour will continue with a few more local attractions in downtown Salt Lake City. On the return trip we will travel through beautiful Weber Canyon and up the Trappers Loop road to Snow Basin Ski resort, site of the 2002 Olympic downhill, giant slalom, and other skiing events. The views are of some of Utah's most breathtaking Alpine mountains. We will ride the Gondola to the top of Mt. Ogden Peak: at 8,500 feet in elevation, the views from the peak are spectacular. One can see the Wasatch Front, Ogden Valley and most of northern Utah. Lunch can be bought at either Earl's Lodge or Needles Lodge. Tuesday--CAP Tour. Cache Valley Food Tour-8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Stops include Caffe' Ibis coffee, Crumb Brothers Bakery, Bluebird Candy, Aggie Ice Cream and True Blue Cheese, Gossner Foods-dairy/cheese, Cox Honeyland, and Spirit Goat goatsmilk soaps and lotions at the Browse Around Antique Shop, featuring locally made jams and preserves. Lunch along the way at your own expense: either Mexican food in the historic Logan train station, or downtown Logan for Italian beef sandwiches. Please note that all tour itineraries are subject to change. Check the meeting website for updates. MEALS The Marketplace and The Hub food court at the Taggart Student Center on campus are open weekdays, and meal cards are available to purchase with your registration. The Quadside Café and the Quickstop Convenience Store are other options on campus. Summer schedules will be published to NNGA attendees when they are announced. Many other dining options are available in and around Logan. Fare-free bus transportation is available through CVTD/Cache Valley Transit District, which picks up on campus. Living Learning Center apartments include kitchenettes, and the University Inn accommodations include a free continental breakfast daily. The banquet on Tuesday evening is priced separately on the registration form. The Wednesday and Thursday field trip fees include a box lunch and beverages. LODGING Accommodations and housing for the Northern Nut Growers Association meeting are conveniently located on campus close to the Eccles Conference Center where the meetings will take place. Choose from the hotel rooms at the University Inn, or the shared apartment units at USU's Living Learning Center. Both housing options are a short walking distance to the conference center. Multiple dining options are available just steps away at the Taggart Student Center, including the Hub Food court or the Aggie Marketplace, offering diverse choices to fit a wide range of diet options. University Inn. The University Inn offers a classic room with two queen beds for just $69 per night plus tax, which includes a continental breakfast daily, free parking in the adjacent Big Blue Terrace, and a coupon for a scoop of Aggie Ice Cream. NOTE: You must make you own reservations with the University Inn. To reserve your room, call (435) 797-0017 or email us at university.inn.cc@gmail.com. Living Learning Center. The Living Learning Center offers shared accommodations in five-bedroom apartment units which serve as student housing during the school year. Each unit features a shared living room and kitchenette, several shared bathrooms, and five bedrooms with either one or two single beds. The cost is just $20 per person, and parking in the nearby Aggie Terrace is $5, payable whenever you exit the lot. To reserve your spot at the Living Learning Center, contact us at conference@usu.edu or mark your preference on the conference registration form. PARKING Residents of the University Inn may park for free in the adjacent Big Blue Terrace. Participants staying at the Living Learning Center may park in the nearby Aggie Terrace for $5, payable whenever you exit the lot. EMERGENCIES Messages can be left with Joy Brisighella, USU Program Coordinator, at (435) 757-5940. COOKIES For liability reasons, homemade foods may not be served in the conference center and meeting rooms. SHOW AND TELL Sunday evening is set for the popular "Show and Tel" session. We are looking for individuals who have tried new equipment or techniques, or have grown promising selections or cultivars. Could you tell us about some recent success, or share your experiences to help others avoid a failure? This is a very valuable, informal program that is only made possible by those with valuable experience and the willingness to share with the group. This will be held after our barbeque on Sunday evening at the historic American West Heritage Center. There is a state of the art podium, with a screen and all necessary projectors. Dr. Clarence Funk has agreed to organize this popular event. Please contact him and let him know.
AUCTION In addition to the items that the Auction and Exhibits committee will be soliciting, contributions by members are strongly encouraged. Your donated items will add excitement and variety to this well-attended event. Auction items do not have to be fruit or nut-related. Hand-made donations and products are always welcome. What a great way to advertise your product to a captive audience. Contact Ken or Ramona Turner for details. All proceeds will go to a great cause to promote trees and nuts.
If you can't attend, you can show your support by mailing your auction donations or exhibit material to:
The bidding will begin at 6:30 pm and the auction will conclude when the last item is sold and the last payment received. EXHIBITS If you would like to exhibit a product related to tree or nut culture, please contact Tim Ford to reserve display space. We have reserved an area for exhibits at the Eccles Conference Center, so it will receive high traffic from meeting attendees. Let us know if you would like to participate.
GROUP PHOTO The group photo will be taken just prior to the banquet on Tuesday. There will be no additional cost for the photo. LOCATION AND TRAVEL The Salt Lake City airport is located 2 hours south of Logan, Utah. It is a hub for Delta and Southwest Airlines. Shuttle service is available between the airport and Logan from Cache Valley Limo's Airport Shuttle and Salt Lake Express. Reservations with Valley Limo can be made online at www.loganshuttle.com, or by calling (800) 658-8526. To make a reservation with Salt Lake Express, visit saltlakeexpress.com. For those who prefer to rent a car, there are many rental car agencies at the airport and in downtown Salt Lake City. Detailed driving directions from Salt Lake City to the campus of Utah State University in Logan can be found at www.usu.edu/visit/directions/. If you are coming by train, Amtrak's California Zephyr service between Chicago and San Francisco stops in Salt Lake City. To make reservations call 1-800-USA-RAIL. WEATHER Logan weather in July is sunny and mostly dry, averaging 85 - 90 degrees during the day and 65 degrees at night. Bring sunscreen and hats. |
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