From the President
Hunt Conard, Skidmore College
What a great conference in Gainesville! We had first-rate educational sessions and a variety of interesting events. Thanks to all the presenters for creating the sessions which are so important to all of us, and to the Program Planning Committee, co-chaired by president-elect Jeff Clark and Mark Pike, for gathering and selecting the presentation proposals and creating the schedule.
My appreciation goes to Mary Anderson and Julie Hanson for efficiently handling registrations and other inquiries both before and during the conference. They have both been tireless workers. Special thanks to Bob Murphy and Steve Hartner for preparing the printed Proceedings distributed during the conference. The coordination of the Proceedings is no easy task. Proceedings are available online.
Kudos to our host, Mark McCallister, for all his hard work creating the web pages, printing the schedules, arranging a thought provoking keynote address, organizing an informative campus visit, and scheduling some fun outings. Events included a trip to Silver Springs for dinner where we could view the alligators and rhesus monkeys and where we could take river tours to learn about the areas local history. During our Thursday dinner, we were treated to a surprise program by Drew Copeland and Ken Block, the lead singers for Sister Hazel. They performed some of their songs and answered our questions on the impact of the digitization of music on performers and the music industry. Great job Mark!
The conference is a good example of why volunteers are so important to CCUMC. There are many opportunities for you to join us as a candidate for office, presenter at a conference, or as a chair or member of a committee or task force. First time volunteers often bring new ideas and approaches to our organization, keeping it fresh and responsive. I encourage you to contact any member of the board of directors or the Executive Office if you have an interest in serving.
Speaking of volunteers, I have appointed two new task forces to help serve you. The Strategic Planning Task Force, chaired by Tom Beggs, will be reviewing the CCUMC Strategic Plan for the years 2009-2012. As a part of the review, they will be conducting a survey to solicit your input. Please reply to this survey since it is so important to the process of determining how CCUMC moves into the future. You will be notified of survey progress later this year. The Conference Planning Handbook Task Force, chaired by Derek Toten, will review the handbook that guides us in the planning of our annual conferences. This document has not been updated in a number of years. The task force will also create a procedure to annually review and update the handbook.
Finally, I would like to thank Mary Anderson for her years of service in the CCUMC Executive Office at Iowa State University. We had a wonderful tribute to her following the Annual Business Meeting in Gainesville, where many of the past presidents came forward to speak of her dedication and knowledge. Mary, we are truly going to miss you, and we wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Should you have any suggestions for CCUMC or questions, please contact me at hconard@skidmore.edu. May you all have a happy and prosperous 2008!