Our events

Dayton, Ohio Central State University

Friday & Saturday, September 19 & 20

Heir Property & Succession Planning
with BEAN Foundation & S&B Farm
Protect and pass down your land through estate and succession planning.

The 2025 BIPOC Food & Farming Network Annual Conference will culminate on Saturday night with an Awards Dinner at 6:00 pm in Central State University-Dayton's Community Room. Edgemont Solar Garden will be honored for its outstanding work in the city of Dayton as the recipient of the 2025 Excellence Award. BFFN will also be honoring our youth and young professional award winner, Te’Lario Watkins II (pictured right). Te’Lario is a nationally recognized youth entrepreneur, urban farmer, and advocate for food justice. Edgemont Solar Garden Executive Board Member Nikol Miller, who grew up in the neighborhood and is now Executive Director of the Miami Valley Urban League, will share the center’s story and impact on her life.

Saturday, September 13, 2025

Tractor Supply Farmer's Market
Protect and pass down your land through estate and succession planning.

The 2025 BIPOC Food & Farming Network Annual Conference will culminate on Saturday night with an Awards Dinner at 6:00 pm in Central State University-Dayton's Community Room. Edgemont Solar Garden will be honored for its outstanding work in the city of Dayton as the recipient of the 2025 Excellence Award. BFFN will also be honoring our youth and young professional award winner, Te’Lario Watkins II (pictured right). Te’Lario is a nationally recognized youth entrepreneur, urban farmer, and advocate for food justice. Edgemont Solar Garden Executive Board Member Nikol Miller, who grew up in the neighborhood and is now Executive Director of the Miami Valley Urban League, will share the center’s story and impact on her life.

David Mathews Center for Civic Life
The theme for the 2025 Civic Institute is drawn from Dr. Mathews' 2021 book Together: Building Better, Stronger Communities.

Speakers will highlight what's working in their communities, discuss strategies for addressing persistent challenges, and offer perspectives on the enduring importance of working together. Participants will learn about meaningful efforts to mark the 250 anniversary of the founding of the United States. They will hear how participation in the Mathews Center’s college internship program helped shape the careers and perspectives of dynamic young professionals. And they will be encouraged by leaders from across the state who will discuss challenges and successes in their communities. Dr. David Mathews will offer his own thoughtful perspective in a recorded message.

Our keynote will feature two Alabama lawmakers who understand well the importance of dialogue across differences. Earlier this year, Representative Ginny Shaver (R – Leesburg) and Senator Vivian Davis Figures (D – Mobile) secured passage of a bill providing paid parental leave to state employees. They will discuss what it takes to secure such a bipartisan victory in the State House and, more broadly, why working together in our communities is so vital.

Montevello, Alabama Thursday, October 16