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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Registration has opened for the joint Oregon Heritage Conference/Northwest Archivists annual meeting.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>The joint event, which will take place April 26-28, brings together in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on">Salem</st1:City> two major springtime heritage gatherings of the <st1:place w:st="on">Pacific Northwest</st1:place>. The venue is the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Salem</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Conference</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType>, which is located at the same intersection where <st1:City w:st="on">Salem</st1:City>’s first retail store was built in the 1840s and where <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:State>’s governmental buildings were located in 1859 when statehood occurred.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>The conference theme will be "Fertile Ground: Planting the Seeds for Restoration, Innovation and Collaboration." Using the fertile lands of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Willamette</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> as a backdrop, it highlights the multi-disciplinary approaches that are strengthening and expanding the capacity of archives and other heritage fields in the Northwest.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">Attendees will include community leaders, staff and volunteers from archives, records repositories, historical societies, museums, historic cemeteries, ethnic organizations, schools, historic preservation commissions, humanities groups, <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Main Street</st1:address></st1:Street> programs, the tourism industry, economic development, history buffs and professional historians, youth, and local, tribal, state and federal governments.</FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">The 2012 conference will include new events, as well as activities popular at Northwest Archivists meetings and Oregon Heritage Conferences. These include keynote speakers, panels, workshops, and behind-the-scenes visits to some of the area’s historic buildings and archives. The Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards banquet and the Oregon Heritage Fellowship research talks are also scheduled.</FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">For information about the conference, visit </FONT><A href="http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/OHC/Conference.shtml"><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/OHC/Conference.shtml</FONT></A><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">. For registration, go to the Northwest Archivists website at </FONT><A href="http://northwestarchivistsinc.wildapricot.org/annualmeeting"><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">http://northwestarchivistsinc.wildapricot.org/annualmeeting</FONT></A><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></P>
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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c8e0d8" face="Poor Richard">Kuri Gill</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c8e0d8" face="Poor Richard">Heritage Grants and Outreach Coordinator</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c8e0d8" face="Times New Roman">725 Summer St. NE, Suite C</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c8e0d8" face="Times New Roman">Salem, OR 97301-1266</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c8e0d8" face="Times New Roman">(503) 986-0685</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c8e0d8" face="Times New Roman">(503) 986-0793 (fax)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c8e0d8" face="Times New Roman"><A href="mailto:kuri.gill@state.or.us">kuri.gill@state.or.us</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c8e0d8" face="Times New Roman"><A href="http://www.oregonheritage.org/">www.oregonheritage.org</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>