Mayor Carl Brewer and members of the Wichita City Council will travel to San Antonio, Texas, Nov. 10-14 for the National League of Cities annual Congress of Cities and Exposition.

The local delegation will participate in various workshops, seminars and organizational meetings, joining as many as 2,500 fellow municipal leaders from across the country. All Council members except Paul Gray are expected to attend. City Manager Robert Layton will also attend.

Mayor Brewer will chair the NLC’s Large Cities Committee during the conference, facilitating a discussion of economic challenges facing local communities. Mayor Brewer also serves on the NLC Board of Directors.

The Mayor and Council also plan to volunteer in building a playground at San Antonio’s West End Park on Friday, Nov. 13, with the help of KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit dedicated to bringing play back into children’s lives. The City of Wichita was recognized earlier this year by KaBoom! as a Playful City USA for its innovative efforts to enhance the health and well-being of children.

Throughout the annual conference, municipal officials will hear the latest on how to navigate through the economic recovery, while focusing on public safety, economic development, public finance, infrastructure, education, health care and sustainability. Participants will find real-world examples of successes and lessons learned through workshops, general sessions, leadership training seminars and mobile workshops.

The National League of Cities is the nation’s oldest and largest organization devoted to strengthening and promoting cities as centers of opportunity, leadership and governance. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.

In other conference highlights, Michael Strautmanis, Chief of Staff to the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Engagement and William Freund, chief economist emeritus for the New York Stock Exchange, will address delegates at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

During the Thursday morning general session, Strautmanis will speak on behalf of the Obama Administration. Freund will discuss the current state of the economy and how the economic recovery is fairing, during the Friday morning session.

Local officials will also hear from Doris Kearns Goodwin, political author and historian and Ed Begley Jr., actor, author and environmental activist. Goodwin will speak with attendees about leadership in times of crisis, while Begley will address sustainability.

More information about the 2009 Congress of Cities is available at http://www.nlccongressofcities.org/.

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