WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 29, 2013--The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) announces the selection of Portland, Maine as the site of its 2015 annual summer conference.  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 86 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.

The association's conference agendas center on policy issues, programs, trends, best practices and professional development strategies of mutual interest to state members. NASS members adopt resolutions, develop positions and form issues-oriented task forces at national meetings. The NASS summer conference is one of the association’s two conferences held each year.

About NASS

Founded in 1904, NASS is the oldest, nonpartisan professional organization of public officials in the U.S. Members include the 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa and Puerto Rico. NASS serves as a medium for the exchange of information between states and fosters cooperation in the development of public policy. The association has key initiatives in the areas of elections and voting, state business services and digital archiving, international relations and state securities regulation, as well as several well-established awards programs.  For more information on the National Association of Secretaries of State and its members, click here.

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