Coastal Carolina University and The Sun News are co-sponsoring Growth Summit 2004 on May 4 to bring regional leaders together to discuss the quality of life issues facing the Grand Strand.

How to manage growth is the central topic of the afternoon summit that begins at 1:30 p.m. in Coastal's Wheelwright Auditorium; it is free and open to the public, but attendees must call 349-2071 or e-mail cprince@coastal.edu to make a reservation to attend.

Shelley Lauten, project director of myregion.org in Orlando, Fla., will be the main speaker at 2 p.m., offering tips on how her seven-county region in central Florida collaborated to improve quality of life, education, transportation and other issues.

A panel discussion at 3:10 p.m. will feature Lauten and Michael Gallis, a Charlotte, N.C., consultant who helped the Orlando area with a regional approach to growth. He also created regional source books for Memphis, Cincinnati and Western Michigan. .

At 4:30 p.m., David DeCenzo, dean of Coastal's Wall College of Business Administration, will bring the conference to conclusion with a call to action and final questions.

For more information, 349-2071.