• Current program
• Hotel discount
• Packing/Dress
• Traveling to the hotel
• Once you arrive
• Internet access
• Sightseeing
• Sponsored events

Current program
Our program is updated regularly on our Web site.

• Be sure to bring an extra bag for all your handouts, freebies and other valuable resources.
• Pack comfortable clothing. Please wear layers to accommodate fluctuating meeting room temperatures. Dress of attendees usually ranges from business suits to jeans. Banquet apparel is generally dressier, but formal wear is not required.
• Bring comfortable shoes for walking to/from special events outside of the hotel.
• Average temperatures in September for Minneapolis, are highs in the mid 70s.
  
• Don’t forget your umbrella!

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Traveling to the Hotel
The Marriott has an excellent overview of local airports and driving directions.

Once you arrive/registration
Follow the signs for front-desk check-in. Posters there will tell you where to find the RNA registration desk.

Internet access
Marriott guests can purchase high-speed Internet access for a daily fee that will be accessible in guest rooms and in the main lobby area.

Sightseeing
Check out a sampling of tours offered by foot, wheels, boat or bus. Details available from the Minneapolis CVB.

Sponsored event descriptions

The following is a list of this year's sponsored events & other conference supporters.

Pre-conference support: The Fetzer Institute
A private operating foundation based in Kalamazoo, Mich., the Fetzer Institute engages with people and projects around the world to help bring the power of love, forgiveness, and compassion to the center of individual and community life. Founded by broadcast pioneer John E. Fetzer, the Institute carries out its mission in several ways: by supporting scientific research to understand how to increase the human capacity for love and forgiveness; by convening conversations that help community leaders explore the practical application of love and compassion in their work; and by sharing compelling stories of love and forgiveness at work in the world. The Fetzer Institute is not a religious organization, although it honors and learns from a variety of spiritual traditions.

Digital Workshop—Make it Work: Best Buy
Geek Squad is the first national 24-hour task force dedicated to solving the world’s technology challenges. Comprised of highly skilled and specially trained Agents, home entertainment installers, AutoTechs and appliance repairers, nearly 20,000 active Geek Squad technicians patrol Geek Squad precincts in all U.S. Best Buy stores, at Geek Squad stand-alone U.S. store locations and at service centers nationwide.

Pre-conference support: The Center on Religion & the Professions
The Center on Religion & the Professions works to improve religious literacy among professionals to help them serve a diverse public. We believe that as America grows more religiously diverse, professionals need to better understand the religious traditions and beliefs of the public they serve. Our interdisciplinary, practical and applied work centers on that mission. Founded in 2003 with a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Center is one of Pew’s 10 Centers of Excellence. 

Thursday Luncheon: Jossey--Bass, a Wiley Imprint
Jossey-Bass presents Samir Selmanovic, author of "It's Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian.” Jossey-Bass publishes books, periodicals, and other media to inform and inspire those interested in developing themselves, their organizations and their communities. Jossey-Bass’ publications feature the work of some of the world’s best-known authors in leadership, business, education, religion and spirituality, parenting, nonprofit, public health and health
administration, conflict resolution and relationships.

Thursday Welcome Reception: VeggieTales, from Big Idea, Inc.
VT Cuts out the Christmas PC: Thursday night reception in Hotel
Christmas in September? Ho, ho, hone in on a healthy evening reception as VeggieTales goes all green and red introducing RNA to St. Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving. For many parents, this DVD is long overdue. In an era mostly "Happy Holidays” and carols-free, Bob & Larry explain "Merry Christmas” and Santa Claus at a child’s-eye view—tracing St. Nick to Greece and Greece to Bethlehem. Amy Grant joins a "Give Christmas Away” duet in an inevitable new classic guaranteed to recharge an emphasis on giving in America’s new season of hard living.

Thursday Movie Screening: Possibility Pictures
Sponsored by Possibility Pictures. Join us for an advance screening  of  select scenes and behind-the-scene  clips of the film, "Letters to God,"  narrated by acclaimed producer/director David Nixon, who will  field questions following the screening. "Letters to God" is the story of how  hope changes lives through the written prayers of a young cancer  victim.  The screening is across the street from the  conference hotel at the Kerasotes Block E Stadium 15 theater. 

Friday Breakfast: B&H Publishing, featuring The Love Dare, Day By Day
B&H Publishing, and the multi-million selling book "The Love Dare” invite you to start your day with a continental breakfast, and a little news about the book-turned-brand that helped strengthen marriages around the world. The RNA Press Conference begins at 8:35 a.m. in the breakfast room, sponsored by B&H Publishing and "The Love Dare."

Friday Luncheon: The Knights of Columbus
Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. Luncheon to include the panel discussion, "A Closer Look at Religious Rights of Conscience in Modern Society."

Friday Dinner: Provident Films
Join us for a fabulous dinner sponsored by Provident Films, the company that marketed and distributed last year’s #1 indie film, FIREPROOF.  Over dinner, Provident Films VP Kris Fuhr and Affirm Films VP Rich Peluso will give journalists a peek behind the velvet curtain, as they discuss both the business and the future of Christian filmmaking and distribution.

Saturday Breakfast: HarperOne, featuring "The Future of Faith," by Harvey Cox
Please join HarperOne at 8:05 am for a breakfast press conference with Harvey Cox, author of the new book, "The Future of Faith." Cox, who retires from his long-tenure at Harvard this fall, is the Hollis Research Professor of Divinity.

Saturday Lunch: Hindu American Foundation
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is an advocacy group providing a progressive voice for over two million Hindu Americans. The Foundation interacts with and educates leaders in public policy, academia, media and the public at large about Hinduism and global issues concerning Hindus, such as religious liberty, the portrayal of Hinduism, hate speech, hate crimes and human rights. By promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism, HAF stands firmly against hate, discrimination, defamation and terror. The Hindu American Foundation is not affiliated with any religious or political organizations or entities. HAF seeks to serve Hindu Americans across all sampradayas (Hindu religious traditions).

Saturday Banquet: Journeys With the Messiah
Sponsorship support by Journeys With the Messiah. Fashion photographer Michael Belk’s client work has appeared in Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ and more.  His new project, however, takes his talent down a very different path. Journeys With the Messiah is a collection of compelling and controversial fine art photographs which feature Nazis and prostitutes, Ferraris and motorcycles, and high rollers and Wall Street executives to depict 1st-century Jesus in 20th/21st-century dilemmas and scenarios.  Officially launched on Sept. 11, 2009 with a virtual exhibit, Belk hopes to illustrate to an anxious world the 21st-century relevance of timeless stories from the best-selling book of all time.

OTHER SUPPORT

General Support: The News & Observer
A company with deep roots in the Triangle, The News & Observer Publishing Co. publishes not only The News & Observer, one of the nation’s best regional newspapers, but also nine weekly or bi-weekly newspapers offering community coverage throughout the Triangle. The company launched nando.net, one of the nation’s first internet service providers, in 1994, and today is home to both newsobserver.com and triangle.com, the region’s leading websites. The main office is located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.

Registration bag pens: Beliefnet
Beliefnet (www.beliefnet.com), a recipient of the National Magazine Award for General Excellence Online, is the largest multi-faith online community for spirituality and inspiration. Its mission is to help people find and walk a spiritual path that instills comfort, hope, clarity, strength and happiness for people who are exploring their own faith or curious about others. Beliefnet has more than 12 million newsletter subscribers and averages between 2.5 and 3 million unique visitors per month. A subsidiary of Fox Digital Media and Fox Entertainment Group, Beliefnet is not affiliated with any spiritual organization or movement.

Hotel key cards: The DeMoss Group
The DeMoss Group is the country’s largest public relations firm specializing in faith-based organizations, enterprises and causes. We connect media with top sources, interviews and timely stats on the latest happenings in religion news. Updated daily, DeMossNews.com provides information on religion issues, religious leaders and faith-based organizations. We work to provide media with expert sources, whether or not the source is our client. To view some of the organizations with which we work, visit DeMossGroup.com. For story leads, interactive resources, visuals and interviews, visit DeMossNews.com every day.

Notepads: Rabinowitz-Dorf Communications
Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications serves clients seeking expert, timely and effective services in the entire public relations field. From leading academics and researchers at the center of campaigns and elections to progressive foreign and domestic policy organizations to Jewish, pro-Israel and interfaith clients, Rabinowitz/Dorf is the cutting edge address for media consulting, message development and event planning.

Giveaway (flash drives): Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly
Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly is the only national television news program devoted entirely to covering religion, spirituality, and ethics. Our award-winning website has a full archive of the stories we've broadcast and additional resources that enhance those stories. You can also find exclusive essays, commentaries and video interviews, as well as blogs about topics including religion and politics and international affairs. Audio and video podcasts are also available. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/ 

Registration Bags: Union Theological Seminary
Founded in 1836, Union Theological Seminary is an independent, multi-denominational seminary in New York City.  Its mission is to educate leaders for ministry in churches and related organizations, to extend the work of social justice and to enrich the academy through teaching and research.  Education at Union, while deeply rooted in a critical understanding of the breadth of Christian traditions, is significantly instructed by the insights of other faiths.  It makes connections between these traditions and profoundly challenging contemporary issues including the realities of suffering and injustice, world religious pluralism, the fragility of our planet, and discoveries of modern science.