The Great Estates Consortium will be presenting the seventh annual Great Estates Conference &#8212- &#8220Inspiring Individuals: A Legacy of Leadership in the Hudson River Valley&#8221 &#8212- on Saturday, March 19, 2011. Speakers will discuss the life and times of Margaret Beekman Livingston, Frederic Church, and Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and their roles as inspiring Hudson River Valley personalities.

Optional afternoon tours of the Great Estates &#8212- including a tour of the Historic Colonel Oliver Hazard Payne Mansion in Esopus, New York, home to Marist College’s Raymond A. Rich Institute for Leadership Development &#8212- will highlight areas of the properties that are rarely open to the public.

The program will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home. Registration is $60 ($10 additional for the Payne Mansion tour). Registration forms are available online.

Morning sessions will include:

&#8220The Old Lady of Clermont&#8221:
Searching for the Truth About Margaret Beekman Livingston
Kjirsten Gustavson, Curator of Education, Clermont State Historic Site

&#8220The Commanding Genius of that Day&#8221:
Hudson River School Painter Frederic Edwin Church
Valerie Balint, Associate Curator, The Olana Partnership

Leaders and Land Owners: The Roosevelts and the Hudson Valley Connection
Jeffrey Urbin, Education Specialist, FDR Presidential Library and Museum

Continental breakfast and a morning coffee break will be served. Lunch will be provided by Gigi Hudson Valley and will feature local food. Laura Pensiero, RD chef/owner, Gigi Hudson Valley, will introduce the lunch and share with the participants how she uses local farm products for her business.

Following lunch, participants can choose to attend &#8220behind the scenes&#8221 tours at participating historic sites, including the Historic Colonel Oliver Hazard Payne Mansion, home to Marist College’s Raymond A. Rich Institute for Leadership Development. Attendees may also take a special tour of Locust Grove’s third floor, or the servant areas at Staatsburgh or the Vanderbilt Mansion. This conference will once again coincide with the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week, and participating &#8220behind the scenes&#8221 tours sites will partner with nearby restaurateurs to present a small treat at the end of the tour.