You are invited to attend our 46th Annual Conference organized by the Executive Committee of the Rural Planning Caucus of Virginia, which will be held from October 15-17, 2025 at the historic Mountain Lake Lodge in Pembroke, Virginia. Please consider bringing an item or items that represent your locality for the silent auction on Thursday October 16th which goes to benefit our scholarship program.
The conference begins Wednesday afternoon with a workshop on the Giles County Trail Center and Mountain Lake, showcasing funding sources, flora and fauna, history, and tourism. Dinner Wednesday night will be in Mary’s Barn, preceded by a welcome reception at 5:30 p.m. at the Salt Pond Pub. Following dinner we will kick off our first annual Game Night! Thursday morning focuses on the role of the planner in disaster response scenarios including post-disaster funding, damage assessments, temporary housing, and donation management, followed by a session on solutions for affordable housing projects. After lunch, there will be a session on state funding sources focused on rural issues. Following a short business meeting (open to all attendees) a session on ethics in AI policies will be followed by the annual hike up the mountain at 4:45 p.m. A reception in Mary’s Barn begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner, a silent auction to raise funds for the scholarship programs (bring an item or items that highlight your community) and entertainment including our ever popular annual awards ceremony!
The conference concludes with Friday morning sessions on planning and zoning basics, whether you are a new planner or need a refresher, and legal and legislative issues. Unless noted, all sessions will have AICP Certification Maintenance (CM) credits. *CM Credits for the 2025 conference should be available in the late November – early December timeframe.*