South Shore Clean Cities’ Annual Meeting and Awards is now the Shore Clean Cities Annual Conference, a one-day sustainable transportation conference and expo.
The event is scheduled for February 25 at the Blue Chip Stardust Event Center.
“We’re excited to expand upon the previous success of our Annual Meeting and Awards by offering all of the benefits of a multi-day conference and expo in just one day right here in the Region,” South Shore Clean Cities Executive Director Carl Lisek said. “In addition to our tradition of honoring our top members for their work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we’ll be providing individualized information for government, commercial, transit and school bus fleets with our new breakout sessions as well as a luncheon panel discussion on current and upcoming grant funding opportunities for fleets of all types.”
South Shore Clean Cities is a nonprofit, member-based coalition dedicated to promoting sustainable transportation in Northern Indiana. South Shore Clean Cities is one of nearly 100 U.S. Department of Energy Clean Cities coalitions. The coalitions partner with members in the public, private and nonprofit sectors to increase the use and implementation of sustainable transportation and its infrastructure. The programs supported by South Shore Clean Cities and its members support domestic fuels, strengthen the nation’s energy security, reduce dependence on imported oil, improve air quality and support local jobs and the local economy.
The Annual Conference is now expanded to include twice the exhibit space, with one exhibit hall dedicated solely to indoor vehicle and equipment displays. Educational breakout session topics will include commercial fleet and fuel options, government fleet and fuel options, electric vehicles, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, telematics and idle-reduction technologies and school and transit fleets.
The breakout sessions will feature speakers from AmeriGas, Argonne National Laboratory, ChargePoint, the City of Hobart, Clean Energy Fuels, Creative Bus Sales, Crowley Engineering, Cummins, Eberspaecher Climate Control Systems, Family Express, Ford Motor Company, Greenlots, GTI, Homewood Disposal, ITR Concession Company, Lake Shore Motors, Midwest Transit Equipment, NIPSCO, Opus Inspection/Envirotest Systems, Orange EV, Ozinga, ROUSH CleanTech, South Bend Transpo, South Shore Clean Cities, Trillium, Wa-Nee Community Schools and more.
Mark Smith, technology integration program manager in the Vehicle Technologies Office of the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington D.C. will serve as keynote speaker during the luncheon. Smith will bring his expertise to the event and share the latest on sustainable transportation at the highest level of the Clean Cities program.
The luncheon will also feature a panel discussion with Smith and Tony Maietta of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Shawn Seals of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management on current and future grant funding opportunities.
The Annual Conference will include a networking cocktail reception Monday, February 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the Suncoast Room at the Blue Chip Casino sponsored by South Bend Ethanol and The Times Media Company. Attendees will have the opportunity to mingle with the top leaders in the sustainable transportation industry and make connections with potential clients in an intimate, relaxed atmosphere. The reception is included with registration.
The awards presented during the event celebrate the successes of South Shore Clean Cities members in increasing the use of sustainable transportation methodologies, including alternative fuel and electric vehicles and their infrastructure.
This year’s event is sponsored in part by Lakeshore Public Radio, NIPSCO, ITR Concession Company, Best Equipment Company, Cummins, Ozinga, the United Soybean Board, Clean Energy Fuels, Family Express, Midwest Wind and Solar and ROUSH CleanTech.
The South Shore Clean Cities Annual Conference will take place from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Blue Chip Stardust Event Center, 777 Blue Chip Drive in Michigan City, Indiana. Registration is $45 before February 1 for an individual and $50 after. Registration is available online at www.southshorecleancities.org.
For more information, contact Catherine Yoder at (219) 644-3690 or [email protected].
