California Main Street Annual Conference 

February 21-23, 2018
Pleasanton, CA  

Conference Schedule                                               

Day 1: Wednesday, Feb. 21st                                                                                                                          8:30 a.m. - 10 a.m. - Registration                                                                                                                          -Firehouse Arts Center; 4444 Railroad Ave.-

8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - Light Breakfast and Coffee available

10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - Welcome Session                                                                                                                A three-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author, a popular keynote speaker, Harvard instructor, and            communications advisor for top brands like Walmart, Coca-Cola, LinkedIn, and Google, Carmine Gallo, has      been dubbed a “communications guru” by the Publishers Weekly. Gallo’s books have been translated into more  than 30 languages, with international bestsellers including The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, Talk Like    TED, and The Storyteller’s Secret, among others.

11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. - Lunch                                                                                                                                  Feel free to roam downtown and grab a bite at one of our many delicious restaurants!

1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. - Session #1 - National Trends Update - Dionne Baux - Director of Urban Programs, National Main Street Center 

2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Break  

3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. - Session #2 - State of California Office of Historic Preservation

4:30 p.m. - Break for dinner

5 p.m. - 7 p.m. - Cocktail Social & Silent Auction                                                                                                -Neighborhood Sports Bar & Grill; 234 Main Street-                                                                                          Wind down and socialize! We’ll have our annual Silent Auction, so be sure bring gift baskets showcasing your    community! You can also bring marketing materials to display on the share table during the cocktail social.

Day 2: Thursday, Feb. 22nd                                                                                                                              7:45 a.m. - Registration                                                                                                                                          -Firehouse Arts Center; 4444 Railroad Ave.-

 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. - Concurrent Sessions #1                                                                                            Main Street 101 - Training the Trainer - Laura Olson- Executive Director, Pleasanton Downtown  Association & Rachael Snedecor- Executive Director, Livermore Downtown                                                -Firehouse Arts Center-

 “The Importance of Data Management for Increased Productivity” -  Emily Briggs - VP of PBID Manager  -Museum on Main; 603 Main Street-                                                                                                                      If the data about your district or association- assessment data, property & business owner data, business on  each property, etc. - is in more than one place, it can be frustrating.

Keeping data simple and accessible is the  key to being able to effectively connect and communicate with your owners, city officials, and the communities  that you serve. 

Learn how to manage data and simplify data management for Improvement Districts to foster  more consistent and targeted communication within your network.

 9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. - Break

10:00 a.m.  4:30 p.m. —  Hospitality Lounge                                                                                                       -Towne Center Books- 555 Main Street-                                                                                                            Enjoy some complimentary light refreshments

10:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. - Concurrent Sessions #2                                                                                      Urban Neighborhood Strategies - Presentation by Amanda Elliot- Executive Director, Richmond Main  Street & Craig Scharton - Fresno Downtown Partnership                                                                                  -Firehouse Arts Center-                                                                                                                                            Come hear from two veteran downtown revitalization practitioners leading Main Street programs in transiional urban districts undergoing major development. 

Richmond and Fresno have fought hard against stereotypes and past challenges to make major progress in their downtowns. Learn from their successes and their challenges! 

This will be a fun look into the real world of neighborhood revitalization through the eyes of two directors who use the Main Street approach to make real world changes!

 City Planning - Gerry Beaudin & Mike Tessano                                                                                                  -Museum on Main-

11:45 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. - Lunch

1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Concurrent Sessions #3                                                                                “Leveraging Your District’s Assets for Storytelling” - Mary Bosch - Principal, Marketek; Jamie Johnk;    Karla Antonini; Sheri Stuart                                                                                                                                 -Museum on Main-                                                                                                                                          Retail and Downtown success is about conveying a unique experience, personality, and story. How do you        use your economic assets and data to change perceptions, attract customers, and strengthen your business      base?

This session focuses on making your district come to life for key audiences- businesses, customers,        funders, external markets, and more. 

Learn how to take the next steps in using your Downtown economic assets and data to tell your story, and how to engage volunteers in this effort.

Legislative Update - Assemblywoman Catherine Baker and others TBD                                                         -Firehouse Arts Center-

3 p.m. - 5 p.m. - Explore downtown

4:30 p.m. - Shuttle to hotel                                                                                                                                    -Pleasanton Marriott; 11950 Dublin Canyon Rd.- 

5:30 p.m. - Shuttle to Beer Baron

6 p.m. - 8 p.m. - Storyteller Dinner                                                                                                                        -Beer Baron; 336 St. Mary Street-                                                                                                                         Join us for a very special evening featuring amazing food, networking, and personal stories from some of Pleasanton Downtown’s culinary leaders. 

8 p.m. -  Shuttle to hotel

8 p.m. - Optional crawl 

Day 3: Friday, Feb. 23rd                                                                                                                                          9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - "Attracting Media to Tell Your Story!" Panel discussion facilitated by Rachael Snedecor - Executive Director, Livermore Downtown, Inc.                                                                                -Pleasanton Marriott-                                                                                                                                      Panel Members:                                                                                                                                              Sara Schneider - Sara has been a wine, food, and general lifestyle editor and writer for 25 years. Most recently as Sunset's Wine Editor. Sara makes regular radio and TV appearances and co-authored the book California Wine Country, a Sunset Field Guide. 

Monique Soltani - Monique is an Award Winning journalist with well over a decade of experience working as a broadcaster. Monique is a seasoned anchor, reporter, host, producer, editor, and videographer. Monique currently produces and hosts Bay Area Comcast favorite, Wine Oh TV. 

Optional tour

**Please keep in mind that this is a preliminary draft of the conference schedule, more detailed descriptions of session topics wil be added in the coming days. Conference session topics and/or speakers are subject to change. Please check www.camainstreet.org for the current conference schedule. 

Conference Sponsors