The Eighth Annual Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference will be held Thursday – Sunday, October 19 – 22, in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, with the theme “The Great American Road Trip.”
This year, four keynote speakers will give presentations on Friday and Saturday, October 20 and 21.
Evan Stern will present “Beyond Nostalgia and Neon: The Voices of Route 66.” Evan is one of a proud few who can claim to have been born and raised in the city of Austin, Texas. He first gained national attention at age 11 by finishing second in Austin’s famed O. Henry Pun Off. He now calls Manhattan home, and has received top billing at the Chicago Humanities Festival, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the British American Drama Academy, whether acting Shakespeare or charming audiences with the turn of a Cole Porter phrase, Evan is first and foremost a storyteller with a sincere love and appreciation for history, travel and the art of raconteurship. The past few years have found him busy at work as the host and creator of Vanishing Postcards, which represents a synthesis of these passions, and was hailed as “one of the best podcasts of 2022” by Digital Trends.
Jim Hinckley will present “In the Beginning: Dawn of the Great American Road Trip.” Jim, from Kingman, Arizona, is familiar to Route 66 fans as the creator of Jim Hinckley’s America travel network, author, speaker, historian, and tourism development consultant. He has twenty-two published books and countless articles in publications ranging from American Road to True West. His Route 66 presentations include history, culture, renaissance, heritage tourism, and economic development in the United States and Europe. Less well known is his instigation of the Miles of Possibility conferences at which he has been a presenter on various topics.
T. Lindsay Baker will present “Roadside Food and Mother Road Travelers.” Native Texan T. Lindsay has written two dozen academic books on the American West, among them Portrait of Route 66: Images from the Curt Teich Postcard Archives and Eating Up Route 66: Foodways on America’s Mother Road. He lived just south of former U.S. Highway 66 in Amarillo for a decade, and he has driven the full length of the Mother Road multiple times, including both directions in an unmodified four-cylinder 1930 Ford. Currently, T. Lindsay is undertaking research for a combined history and heritage tourists’ driving guide to former U.S. 66 across the Texas Panhandle.
Marian Pavel will present “Post-pandemic Route 66.” Marian, from Bratislava, Slovakia, has spent 23 years working in prominent Slovak media at both local and multinational publishing houses. He started his career as a journalist; his expertise includes print and digital publishing, online marketing, and PR
communication. Since 2017, he has been fully committed to the Route 66 Navigation and Route 66 Passport projects, overseeing their development, marketing, and communication efforts. Marian is an avid biker and traveler who enjoys good food and beer.
New this year is the “Lunch and Learn” series of special sessions for tourism and community staff and volunteers. “Lunch and Learn” will be offered Thursday through Saturday, October 19-21. Presenters for these three sessions include three seasoned tourism professionals.
Bob Navarro will present “What’s New along The First Hundred Miles of ol’ Route 66.” Bob is the President and CEO of the Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitors Bureau, home of the First Hundred Miles of Route 66, the charming I&M Canal towns, and the magnificent Starved Rock Country. In the last two fiscal years, he received grants of $1.5M and $1.6M, respectively, for attraction development, including electrifying the route, and state-wide marketing and promotion initiatives. These initiatives will grow the state’s tourism numbers in the communities along Route 66.
Scott Dahl will present “Route 66: The Road to 2026.” Scott has served as Director of the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau since August 2018. Prior to leading the SCVB, he was Regional Director of Membership for the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association for sixteen years. Scott is looking forward to hosting Miles of Possibility in Springfield in 2026 for the Route 66 Centennial.
Cory Jobe will present “The Last 100 Miles of Route 66 in Illinois.” Cory is the President and CEO of the Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau where he works to promote domestic and international visitor travel. The region is where two of the nation’s great roadways come together (Route 66 and the Great River Road) along the confluence of America’s three great rivers (Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois). Cory has a wealth of experience in the tourism and hospitality industry, spanning more than twenty years in various roles in Illinois state government, including as the former Director of the Illinois Office of Tourism.
Registration is now open at https://route66milesofpossibility.com. For updates and fun facts, go to https://www.facebook.com/Route66MilesOfPossibility and route66_milesofpossibility on Instagram. Register now and take advantage of the Early Bird Discount and secure your place in the 2023 version of the only annual, ongoing conference event dedicated to Route 66!
EventBrite Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/8th-annual-miles-of-possibility-route-66-conference-tickets-488807033997
Route 66 Miles of Possibility would like to thank the 2023 event presenters: Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway, Illinois Rock & Roll Museum, Ryburn Place at Sprague’s Super Service, McLean County Museum of History and Illinois Coal Museum at Gillespie.
