President’s Corner
Happy New Year’s Greetings!
I hope everyone had a peaceful holiday season and enjoyed a well deserved break.
I am writing to update you on what the Executive Board and Planning Committee have been up to lately and what is coming your way.
Executive Board (EB) and Planning Committee (PC) Meetings:
- The EB/PC met in October at Sunriver for the first joint meeting. We had a productive meeting, taking care of OrACRAO ongoing business and planning for the 2012 annual conference (i.e. planning sessions and touring the facilities). Everyone left impressed with the extraordinary beauty and comfort of the resort and the region.
- EB/PC will meet again in January, hosted by Marylhurst University, to continue business and planning.
- We are pleased to have John Duarte from Klamath Community College join the PC, replacing Shelly Charles who had to resign because of conflicting obligations. We hated to lose Shelly, but certainly understand … and are happy to have John join us.
Save-the-Date: 25th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Sunriver - May 6 – 8, 2012
It is not too early to start calendaring and planning your trip to attend the 25th Anniversary of the OrACRAO Annual Meeting.
We hope you will encourage your colleagues and staff members to join in this special professional development opportunity.
- Online Registration is scheduled to open on March 1st. (Details and a link to the registration site will be sent later.)
- Four scholarships will be awarded to cover the conference fee. For detailed instructions and forms, go to oracrao.org/annual-meeting/annual-meeting-scholarships/. The Scholarship application deadline is February 17th and recipients will be notified prior to the opening of registration.
- Room reservations at Sunriver are open now. To book your rooms online go to the following link: www.sunriver-resort.com/landing/oracrao.php or call 1-800-547-3922 and be sure to say you are with OrACRAO so you will receive the conference discount. For details on room reservations and cancellation policy plesae visit: oracrao.org/annual-meeting/2012-conference-lodging/.
25th Anniversary Special Planning Sub-Committee:
The 25th Anniversary Special Planning Sub-committee includes Marla Edge (chair), Tara Sprehe, Peggy Maas, Seana Barry, Roberto Suarez and myself. The group has met once and will be meeting again in January. The committee will be inviting inactive past-presidents and other “friends” of OrACRAO (retirees and others who have moved from Oregon or changed jobs). If you know of anyone who is no longer on the OrACRAO list who might be interested in being invited, please let Marla know at 541-885-1034 or via email at Marla.Edge@oit.edu.
Conference Session/Topic Ideas: Thanks to All for Ideas and Proposals Many thanks to everyone who submitted ideas for sessions and volunteered proposals. We had a generous response, with many good ideas and strong proposals coming in. We hope to have the session titles and descriptions listed on the website a week or so prior to the March 1 opening of conference registration.
Membership Dues – 100% Received: Thanks to ALL for making this happen, especially Gwen Hyatt, for diligently tracking and keeping up with this task.
2012 Oregon Transfer Days (OTD): The OTD events are ready to begin on January 17th, running through February 23rd. This is an annual opportunity to promote student transfer from community college to four-year colleges and universities. For schedule and details go to oracrao.org/oregon-transfer-days/.
On behalf of the Executive Board and Planning Committee members, I want to say thanks for allowing us to serve this organization and we hope that everyone is off to a great start in the new year.
Cindy Baccar President, OrACRAO