The Peabody Little Rock will fill the hotel’s conference hall with two conventions this weekend. National groups representing editorial writers and royalty owners (the owners of mineral rights) will visit Little Rock for their 2008 conventions.
The National Conference of Editorial Writers begins its conference Wednesday and will last until Saturday at the Peabody Hotel. The hotel is also hosting the National Association of Royalty Owners convention from Thursday until Saturday.
The NARO convention will cover topics regarding mineral rights that range from "The Future of Energy", which the president of the International Society for Energy Advocates will present, to presentations on trust and estate planning techniques for mineral management.
Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, also will present a study the center conducted on the Fayetteville Shale Play’s impact on Arkansas. The center estimates the shale play will impact the state to the tune of about $23 billion between 2005 and 2012.
The NCEW convention will feature two speakers of note Friday. Juan Williams, a political analyst for National Public Radio, will speak at 9:30 a.m. on the "Future of Black America," and Walter E. Hussman Jr., CEO of Wehco Media Inc. of Little Rock, will speak at 12:30 p.m. The convention’s title is "The Next South, The Next America."
The NCEW convention is being sponsored by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Stephens Media Group and several other organizations.