The University of Maine at Presque Isle is pleased to announce that it will serve as the host of the 35th National Institute on Rural Social Work. The institute is expected to bring together social work and human services professionals from all over the United States and parts of Canada for a three-day conference focused on issues surrounding rural social work.

The event, to be held from July 14-17 and sponsored by UMPI’s Social Work Program and the National Rural Social Work Caucus, was held last year in Duluth, Minn. and will be held next year in Natchitoches, La. The theme of this year’s conference is “The 3 R’s of Rural Social Work: Relationships, Resources & Resiliency.”

UMPI has had the privilege of hosting the conference one other time, in 2000.UMPI Professor of Social Work Kim-Anne Perkins is serving as this year’s conference planner.

“We are very honored at the University of Maine at Presque Isle to once again host these proceedings and to share our cultural identity and rural way of life with conference-goers. We hope to set new attendance records and have invited social work and human service professionals from across the U.S. and our neighbors in the Atlantic provinces of Canada,” Perkins said. “In Duluth, Minnesota, last year, attendees came from 42 of the 50 United States as well as from Canada. These numbers speak to the breadth of interest and rural identity that still exists in one of the most industrialized countries in the world.”

The conference is taking place at the same time as the Maine Potato Blossom Festival, so conference attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy this exciting County tradition.

One of the many other activities that will take place during the conference is the “Made in Aroostook Showcase and Market,” which the community is invited to attend. Local crafters, artists, photographers, and creators of organic products will gather at the University of Maine at Presque Isle on Thursday, July 15, from 8:30-11:30 a.m. for the showcase and market. All are invited to join market vendors and conference participants on the University’s front lawn for this event.

For more information about the conference, visit www.umpi.edu/rural. To learn more about the Made in Aroostook Showcase and Market or to become a vendor, contact Kim-Anne Perkins at 207-768-9428 or kimanne.perkins@maine.edu.