FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2013
CONTACT: Matt Dunlap 626-8400

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Maine to Host National Association of Secretaries of State Summer Conference in 2015

WASHINGTON, DC and AUGUSTA, MAINE—Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap is pleased to announce that Portland, Maine has been chosen as the host site for the 2015 summer meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS).  At the association's annual winter meeting this past weekend in Washington, DC, the nation's Secretaries of State voted unanimously to bring the summer conference to the Pine Tree State at the Holiday Inn by the Bay from July 17 to July 20, 2015.  The 98th summer conference will mark the first time that NASS has held its annual meeting in Maine since 2003.

"We are thrilled that NASS has accepted our bid, which will showcase the best of Maine to a new wave of senior public officials and corporate affiliates from all over the country," noted Dunlap, who served as the association's national president from July 2010 to January 2011.  "Portland serves as the economic hub of our state, making it the perfect setting for a meeting that promises to provide a financial boost and foster strong partnerships."

The 86th NASS summer conference, hosted in 2003 by the late Dan A. Gwadosky during his tenure as Secretary of State, brought more than 400 attendees to the Portland area and generated an estimated $500, 000 in economic activity for hotels, restaurants and other Maine businesses. The Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Portland bestowed its Phoenix Award to NASS for being the conference that had the greatest impact on the region that year.

The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) is the nation’s oldest non-partisan professional organization for state government officials. States bid two years in advance to host the association's summer conference, which have recently been held in Puerto Rico, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan and New Mexico.

The 2013 NASS summer conference will be hosted by Anchorage, Alaska and the 2014 summer conference will be held in Baltimore, Maryland.

?NASS engages in a host of policy areas, sharing best practices and providing expertise to Congress and other public officials on elections, business services and company formation, securities, state libraries, museums and archives, protocol and overseas development, and motor vehicle administration,? said Dunlap. ?Not every Secretary of State or Lieutenant Governor has the same roster of responsibilities, but there is a great deal of crossover in policy areas that helps to inform our work at home. Our goal is to ensure that the 2015 NASS summer conference exceeds expectations and boosts the capabilities of the nation's Secretaries of State."