Date
09/11/02
Contact:
FOIFT office, (214) 977-6658
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOIFT
State Conference Fast Approaching
The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas will
hold the Bernard and Audre Rapoport 2002 FOI Conference, Friday
and Saturday, Sept. 20-21, at the Inter-Continental Stephen
F. Austin Hotel, Austin. The theme of the two-day conference
is Sunshine in Crisis .
Friday's program will include three panels. Point-Counterpoint:
Do We Have to Close Doors to be Secure ?
will discuss issues related to open government and FOI in
light of increased security in the new war on terrorism. Tony
Pedersen, senior vice president and executive editor of the
Houston Chronicle , will moderate.
Panelists will include: Doug Clifton, executive editor of
The Plain Dealer , Cleveland,
Ohio; and Marianne Burtnett, a White House attorney assigned
to the Office of Homeland Security, Washington, DC.
Freedom
of Expression in Times of National Crisis
will examine critical periods of national crisis when our
government has limited freedom of expression. Retta Kelley,
director of community development for the Austin American-Statesman
, will moderate. Panelists will
include: John Collins, attorney with Burleson, Pate &
Gibson of Dallas; Charles Davis, executive director of the
Freedom of Information Center at the University of Missouri
School of Journalism, Columbia; and David McHam, professor
of journalism at the University of Houston.
The
Privacy Paradox will consist of members of the State
Privacy Task Force discussing its focus and privacy issues
in the 78 th Legislative Session. Cathy Martindale, executive
editor of the Amarillo Globe-News, will moderate.
Panelists will include: Texas Representative Brian McCall,
Plano; Laura Lee Stapleton, an attorney with Jackson Walker,
L.L.P., Austin; and Texas Senator Leticia Van de Putte, San
Antonio.
Friday's activities also will include the John Henry
Faulk Awards Luncheon featuring keynote speakers attorney
Mike DeGeurin, of Foreman, DeGeurin, Nugent & Gerger,
Houston, and freelance writer and University of Houston lecturer
Vanessa Leggett. During the luncheon, the FOIFT will honor
Leggett with the James Madison Award for her contribution
to the preservation of the First Amendment.
The day will conclude with a reception, hosted by The Associated
Press and the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal .
Saturday's
program will include an Open Government seminar with: Missy
Cary, Chief of the Open Records
Division for the Office of the Attorney General, Austin ;
David Donaldson, an attorney with George & Donaldson,
L.L.P., Austin; Hadassah Schloss, open records administrator
for the Texas Building and Procurement Commission, Austin;
Joel White, an attorney with Ogden, Gibson, White & Broocks,
L.L.P., Houston; and Thomas Williams, an attorney with Haynes
and Boone, L.L.P., Fort Worth. This seminar is designed to
develop and enhance understanding of the changing landscape
of our open government.
Saturday's luncheon will feature attorney general candidates
former Texas Supreme Court Justice Greg Abbott and Kirk Watson,
former Austin mayor. They will address the audience and participate
in a Q&A session.
The three registration packages are as follows: Package #1,
$180, includes all conference events, Sept. 20 and 21; Package
#2, $125, includes all panels on Sept. 20 and the awards luncheon;
and Package #3, $75, includes the Open Government seminar
and attorney general candidate luncheon on Sept. 21. Students
may audit the conference for free, but the cost of meals will
be assessed. To register, call the FOIFT office at (214) 977-6658.
Online registration is also available at www.foift.org.
Hotel accommodations can be made by contacting the Inter-Continental
Stephen F. Austin Hotel at (512) 457-8800. To receive the
special reduced rate of $109, mention the FOIFT conference.
Availability and rate subject to change after August 28.
The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas is a nonprofit
501(c)(3) organization supported through grants from private
citizens, corporations, foundations and tax deductible donations.
For more information, call (214) 977-6658, or visit our web
page, www.foift.org.
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