Well-known national pundits William Kristol, editoi of the Weekly Standard and Fox News Sunday panelist, and Mark Shields, columnist and panelist on the ABC/PBS show Inside Washington, are speakers at Monday morning’s opening plenary session of the annual Southern Legislative Conference, which is meeting this year at The Peabody in Memphis.
The conference — which began over the weekend with workshop meetings and social get-togethers, including a Saturday night visit to Graceland — will continue through Tuesday, with speaking appearances by Governor Bill Haslam, state Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, and state House Speaker Beth Harwell, and a final banquet.
The Conference is sponsored by the Southern Office of The Council of State Governments and comprises the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, George, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
During the four days of the conference, attendees will have dealt with a variety of topical subjects, including Agriculture and Rural Development, Energy and Environment, the 2011 Census, Education, a Human Services and Public Safety, and Hunger in the South.
The Peabody was the first venue for the Southern Legislative Conference, when it convened in 1947 as the Southern Regional Conference.
Chairman for this week’s event is State Senator Mark Norris (R-Collierville), majority leader of the state Senate.
