Past Regional News from Region 1
From the May 2011 issue of ACCED-I Connections:
From Kelly Weak at Boise State University:
We just finished hiring five student leaders to help manage our summer conference program and 20 students to provide exceptional service to our summer guests. This summer we are implementing an online training program to provide staff training in: position orientation, customer service, policy enforcement/confrontation skills, safety, and general University policies/procedures - this will cut out three days of in person training and give the staff a better foundation when they start.
In addition, our graduate student ACUHO-I intern from last summer was just hired by a mid-west school as the associate director of career development, way to go Allison!
From April McGonial at Whitworth University:
The School Year Special Events Department at Whitworth is in the thick of it with organizing Board of Trustee meetings, Relay for Life, Whitworth’s annual luau and Graduation ceremonies. Kristine, who is head of this department, will be ready for a much needed break at the end of May.
The Summer Conference Department at Whitworth University recently finished hiring 10 outstanding students for the busy summer conference season. I am anxious and ecstatic to work these fine students. We have a many returning clients as well as a few new clients this summer; it will be fun and adventurous as always.
From Kate Kelly, Seattle University
Region 1 had a great time at the Annual Conference in Orlando, FL! We had our regional dinner at the House of Blues (see photo below). Our region was very active at the conference this year moderating and presenting sessions, being nominated for awards, and of course – having fun! This was possibly the best conference to date!
We are excited to pick a final date for our Fall Summit at OSU! Keep your eyes open for information on how to vote for the date!
From the November/December 2010 issue of ACCED-I Connections:
From the University of Montana:
From Seattle University:
We had an extremely successful fall summit here in Seattle. We hosted 30 attendees from 14 institutions. Workshops were held on employee rewards, legal issues, customer service, and event request forms to name a few! The team enjoyed two fabulous dinners (see photos) and many hours of networking.
Seattle University welcomes three new employees:
From the September - October 2010 issue of ACCED-I Connections:
Fall Summit
The Region 1 Fall Summit has been scheduled for November 3 - 5, 2010 at Seattle University. Hopefully many of you are able to make it and share in the successes and challenges of last year, as well as meet colleagues from around the Region and have some fun while learning new skills and industry trends. More information to come…!
Learning the Ropes - News from April McGonigal, Whitworth University:
I have had an amazing student staff this summer, six returned from last summer and five newcomers. They are extremely reliable and their follow-through is amazing. They make my job a lot less stressful!
The first day of training I took my team to a nearby university that offers high & low ropes course elements. We spent three hours “bonding” as a team, examining where our strengths and weaknesses were as a team. Afterwards I broke the group off into teams of two where they engaged in a scavenger hunt, to find various buildings on campus as well as question various departmental staff (facility services, security, etc) about the type of work they engage in the summer. Teams were not allowed to use technology, but simply had to interact with students and staff currently on campus. It was a fantastic activity because it opened their eyes to what it was like being on an unfamiliar campus; each of them are obviously so familiar with our campus, however they realized the importance of giving good directions to guests who may be unfamiliar with our campus. They also encountered friendly and not-so-friendly people while roaming the campus grounds, which spurred on a positive conversation regarding customer service.
Later I took my team back to the nearby campus to engage in another three hours of high & low ropes course elements. The activities allowed us to re-examine our strengths and weaknesses as a team and discuss how we were to finish the summer strong. It’s so easy to “coast” at this point, however when a team gets lazy it is easy to miss vital details, thus often providing terrible customer service. This “mid-summer” fun time re-energized and spurred our team on to finish on a high note!
News from Seattle University:
Earlier this summer, here in the Emerald City, our Seattle University team was busy with Freshman Summer Orientation; a project that required every part of our office to work together for the common goal. Amidst sweltering 95 degree temperatures, we kept our cool piecing together one of our most complex yet successful Summer Orientations to date. We were sad to see the tent (if it even qualifies for such a small name) go, but it returned for round two in September to welcome the biggest Freshman class Seattle U has even seen.
From the April/May 2010 issue of ACCED-I Connections:
From Kavinda Arthenayake at Oregon State University Conference Services:
Oregon State University Conference Services unveiled its new website under – www.meetatosu.com to promote the OSU Conference Center to internal and external groups. The site was created in Drupal 6.
From Bryce Winkelman at Puget Sound Community College:
Victoria Lewis joined South Puget Sound Community College as the Assistant Director of Event Management in October. Victoria is responsible for event coordination for internal and external groups and conferences. SPSCC is pleased to have an experienced campus event coordinator join our team to bring the Event Management department to the next level.
From Lanny Stein at North Idaho College:
For what it’s worth we have a full summer conference schedule at North Idaho College with the need to work in two or three more….somehow. Good problems to have. So much for summer fishing plans!
From Shannon Brilz at the University of Montana:
The University of Montana hosted the 24th National Undergraduate Research Conference (NCUR) April 14 -17. NCUR is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity featuring 2,600 scholars and their faculty mentors from all institutions of higher learning. The campus canceled classes for two days to host the events.
The University of Montana will host its first outdoor Commencement on the Oval May 15th. Rain or shine (or snow). We will set up 10,000 chairs on our oval to accommodate our graduates and guests. The University Center at The University of Montana will host the Regional Association of College Unions International (ACUI) Conference October 28 - 30, 2010. Shannon Brilz, (ACCED-I Member) is co-chair of this conference and also is a member on the regional ACUI leadership team.
From Kate Kelly at Seattle University:
Region 1 had a wonderful time at the Annual Conference in Louisville, KY! We had members from all over including Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and British Columbia! Seattle University (SU) presented (for the first time) a workshop at the annual conference. SU Intern Danielle Gonzales and SU Assistant Director Kate Kelly presented on student employees in the work place.
From the January - March 2010 issue of ACCED-I Connections:
I am pleased to announce that Emily Roberts, events coordinator from The Evergreen State College, is our new regional director-elect. Congratulations Emily!
Information will be sent out soon about our regional dinner location while at the Annual Conference in Louisville.
Thank you to Seattle University for hosting our successful fall regional meeting. Big Kudos to Kate Kelly & Danielle Gonzales for making this year's meeting a huge success. We had outstanding sessions that were a good balance between conference and event topics. The Seattle vendors catered dinner and the Holland America Cruise Line Tour were among the highlights of the three day meeting.
Lane Community College’s Center for Meeting and Learning in Eugene, OR was awarded Lane County's Restaurant/Food Service Trashbuster Award! The award goes to selected local community members, organizations, and businesses that put their efforts toward reducing or preventing waste in our community. The Center for Meeting and Learning was selected as the Restaurant/Food Service Trashbuster because it applies a zero waste priority to staff training, written policy, promotions, and in contract language with vendors and customers. Beyond basic recycling, on-site composting, donation of reusable food and refusal to use disposable food service wares reduces waste. They go further to prioritize purchase of recycled content options for everything from brochure paper and office supplies to guest pens, facial tissue, and even carpeting. For more about the Center for Meeting and Learning's sustainable practices, visit their website.
From November-December 2009 issue of ACCED-I Connections:
News from Ken Baxter and Central Washington University (CWU):
Central Washington University has concluded one of its most successful summers ever. In spite of the poor economy causing one large adult group to cancel--after over 20 summers on campus--most of the regular groups came with similar, and even increased, numbers compared to previous summers.
We added a third high school football camp to accommodate the growth from the previous summers total of 1600 campers--at two camp dates-- to over 2000 total campers with three dates.
Men's basketball also increased in numbers and several new camps and groups were added as well.
Our new Wendell Hill Hall (475 bed residence hall) just opened this fall and we anticipate using it for groups starting next summer. We are also anticipating "losing" the 180+ beds that Barto Hall has provided us for the past 40+ years as it is to be demolished for a new residence hall (350 beds) due to be constructed on the site with a planned fall 2012 opening.
Our total bed capacity has been very tight on certain key dates during past summers and we anticipate the same for the next 2-3 summers until our summer bed capacity becomes larger and available for our use during the summer.
The good news is that the new halls have air conditioning, elevators, and many features that summer guests will enjoy! About a third of the new units are like a standard hotel room with two beds sharing a private bath. Another third are suites with two bedrooms and two beds in each bedroom sharing a private bath. The final third are suites with four single bedrooms all sharing bath and common area with fridge and sink.
Our permanent Conference Program staff continues to be innovative with technology and customer service and have a very high rate of repeat business as a result.
News from Bryce Winkelman and South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC):
Bryce Winkelman was promoted to director of auxiliary services. Victoria Lewis has been hired as the new assistant director for event management in auxiliary services. Victoria comes to SPSCC with many years of collegiate conference experience at Pacific Lutheran University. We are excited to have her on board to help us move our small program to the next level.
News from Ted Gaisford and University of Calgary:
For the University of Calgary, we have finally just launched our new, on-campus full-service hotel named Hotel Alma (yes, like alma mater!) that is owned and operated by us, giving us 100 rooms and suites year-round. The website is www.hotelalma.ca . It means we can host smaller conferences year-round without the necessity of going off-campus, plus it pulls back into the university the 1.5 million we were spending in off-campus accommodation per year. We have received rave reviews so far, with guests comparing it to boutique hotels they have stayed in in Singapore, Paris, Rome, and New York!
News from Lanny Stein and North Idaho College:
North Idaho College welcomes Matt Sebby who has joined us as the new Edminster Student Union Manager. Matt come to us from Boise State University (BSU) Union where he has worked for the last five years. Please feel free to drop Matt a welcome note at mesebby@nic.edu . A thank you to Jack and Ansural at BSU for their recommendation and support of Matt in this move to North Idaho College.
News from Shannon Earley and The University of Montana:
The University Center at The University of Montana produced for the first time the “Tunnel of Oppression”. Tunnel of Oppression is an interactive event that highlights contemporary issues of oppression. It was designed to introduce participants to the concepts of oppression, privilege, and power. Participants were guided through a series of scenes designed by student groups that aimed to educate and challenged them to think more deeply about issues of oppression. At the end of the tour, participants were provided with the opportunity to discuss their experiences with each other. The Tunnel was open October 26-28, 2009 and was free and open to the public.
The University Center at The University of Montana presents the 4th annual Day of Dialogue October 29th. The Day of Dialogue is a campus-wide symposium focused on the topics of race, gender, ethnicity, ability/disability, religion, sexual orientation, employment hierarchy and academic discipline. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members will deliver presentations, performances, workshops, and more throughout the day.
News from Kate Kelly and Seattle University (SU):
Seattle University Conference and Event Services said goodbye to event coordinator Chad Yamamoto in late October. Chad moved home to Hawaii after six years in Seattle. We are working to replace that position and should have a new team member in mid October. With the school year in full swing, we survived yet another fall with our giant temporary structure aka: tent. This was home to our President’s Welcome, New Student Orientation activities, and other fun events (see photos below).
SU also hosted the fall 2009 Region 1 meeting November 4 – 6. Topics such as presidential events, economic impact, and marketing were presented.
Fall Regional Meeting
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CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
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From September-October 2009 issue of ACCED-I Connections:
Regional Meeting Information
Thank you to Seattle University (SU) for hosting the fall meeting this year! The conference will be November 4 - 6. The registration fee will be $110. You should have received an email from Seattle University’s intern – Danielle Gonzales – with detailed information on how to register for the conference and book your hotel. We are excited to share that we have partnered with the Silver Cloud Hotel on South Lake Union for your accommodations. They have free parking, a free shuttle that will bring you to and from SU (as well as to other locations in downtown Seattle), complimentary breakfast, and an amazing view of Lake Union. The hotel rate will be $119.00 a night (two queens or a king) plus tax. In the confirmation email you will receive details on how to reserve your room. Until then, you can check out their website for more information http://www.silvercloud.com/11home.htm
To make this a productive meeting, we want to hear from you about topics you are interested in. If you have an idea or would like to present, please contact Kate Kelly at kellyk@seattleu.edu or Megan Hoffart at Megan.Hoffart@oregonstate.edu.
News from Candy Lunke, Centralia College, Centralia, WA
Centralia College was chosen as the official mid-point for the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic (STP). This year we had 10,000 riders come through campus on their way from Seattle to Portland. We made a huge celebration out of this event! Our campus was open for free tent campers and we rented out RV space and floor space in our gym and semi-private rooms in other buildings on campus for riders to spend the night. The response from all over the country has been phenomenal. I talked to people from all over the US and Canada and have really enjoyed being the contact person for this event. Although there was no way I could personally greet everyone on the day of the event, I did talk to and email hundreds of them in the months preceeding the event.
Since we are a smaller two-year community college with roughly 4000 students, this is a biggy for us. We spent months preparing for STP weekend. A big draw for the riders was the outside beer garden with the Tour de France playing on TV, free musical entertainment on stage, massage for the riders, and on and on.
A committee of six does the initial planning and they have a volunteer staff of close to 100 during the actual event. Proceeds from the STP go towards our athletic scholarships so all of our athletic team members are involved as well.
We have a number of sponsors who also made this event happen. This year the Got Milk! Darigold campaign participated and handed out 10,000 free bottles of chocolate milk to riders and visitors! Others sponsors included Costco, New Belgium Brewery, Starbucks, and others.
Visit http://stp.centralia.edu/index.html for more information.
Kate’s Guide to a Perfect Pineapple Martini!
As tradition goes, here is a fabulous seasonal drink from our Regional Director-Elect Kate Kelly.
Pineapple vodka (Sky Pineapple or Van Gogh Pineapple are the best)
Splash of pineapple juice
Splash of triple sec
Fresh pineapple – skinned and sliced into 2” triangles
Soda water (club soda – not tonic!)
Maraschino Cherry
Sugar (for the rim)
• Use one of the pineapple slices and run it along the rim of a cold martini glass. Then swirl the glass into a bowl/plate of sugar, creating a small, sweet dusting.
• Take a pint glass and put three slices of pineapple, a splash of triple sec, and a few ice cubes. Using a muddler, muddle the fruit and ice together.
• Fill up the pint glass with ice.
• Add the vodka and pineapple juice. Shake everything in a shaker tin. Then add a bit of the soda water to the top (do not shake – unless you want to be sticky!)
• Place the cherry into the martini glass and strain the cocktail into the glass. Put a pineapple slice on the side for a tasty snack.
Sit back, put your feet up, and listen to Otis Redding’s “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”
From June - August 2009 issue of ACCED-I Connections:
May 12th a group of Region 1 members gathered at Pacific University in Forest Grove, OR. Thanks to our fabulous host Lois Hornberger for putting together a wonderful day! We learned a little about the whole Twitter and Facebook phenomenon, gathered advice on contract issues, and even got to go sake tasting.
We are sad to report that Nivea Balsera, event coordinator at Seattle University, will be leaving on July 10th. She is going to attend film school. We all wish Nivea the best of luck in the pursuit of her dream!
As tradition goes, Kate Kelly, regional director elect, is providing us with her seasonal drink recipe. What a refreshing concoction for this crazy time of year in our industry!
Strawberry Martini
Take one strawberry and run it along the rim of a martini glass. Take the glass and swirl it in sugar, creating a sugared rim. Place the strawberries, simple syrup, and two ice cubes in a pint glass. Muttle them together. Fill pint glass with ice and pour vodka in – shake! Strain cocktail into martini glass and add a splash of soda water.
Enjoy!
From April/May 2009 issue of ACCED-I Connections:
Submitted by Megan Hoffart:
From our regional dinner at Maggiano’s, to the informative conference sessions and sightseeing excursions , Region 1 members had a fantastic time in Boston. Our compliments to Region 12 and the ACCED-I staff for a job well done. We sorely missed a lot of the Washington and Canadian colleagues who were unable to attend due to the economy. Hopefully, we can see them all for the fall regional meeting.
Please help me in welcoming our new Region 1 director-elect, Kate Kelly. Kate is the events operation manager at Seattle University.
She will be spearheading the regional meeting in the Fall. If you have any suggestions or would like to help her out please email her at kellyk@seattleu.edu She is our resident foodie & wine expert. Ever in a pinch for a seasonal cocktail to serve at an event, Kate is your woman.
A huge THANK YOU to Alice Sorensen for her amazing job as being Region 1 director. Alice’s positive and welcoming personality has been a huge asset to our region. She continues to help us all out with maintaining our regional listserv at her institution, Willamette University.
Region 1 members at ACCED-I 29th Annual Conference in Boston, MA
From ACCED-I Connections, January - March 2009:
The Region 1 meeting was held October 22-24 at the University of Washington (UW). Heartfelt thanks go out to everyone at UW who worked to put together the conference. We started off with a “fishy” Wednesday afternoon as we had a fun presentation of the FISH philosophy followed by a 
visit to Pikes Marketplace. We watched Spencer Ellis (Linfield) catch a fish, found the wall of gum, and saw the world’s largest shoe. Dinner kept to the fish theme with a dinner at Ivar’s Salmon House.
Thursday and Friday had sessions on Brand Development and Marketing, Sustainable Conferences, Evaluation and Rate Setting, Issues in Letters of Agreements/Contracts, and What Every Event Planner Needs to Know for a Successful Catered Event and Conference. We also had a helpful tour of the ACCED-I website.
Spencer Ellis, Marlene Harlan, Leonard O’Connor, Tom Cloonan, Ken Baxter, and Ted Gaisford have offered to assist Region 1 in reaching the goal of 168 members in the “2010 in 2010” campaign by contacting prospective members and answering their questions about membership in ACCED-I.
Kate Kelly, Seattle University, was unanimously elected as the incoming Regional Director-Elect. 
Kate is getting off to a festive start by sharing her recipe for a Chocolate Raspberry Martini:
1 shot of Godiva Dark Chocolate Liquor
1 shot of Stoli Raspberry Vodka
½ shot of Licor 43 (a vanilla bean based liquor from Spain)
½ shot of Godiva White Chocolate Liquor
Chocolate sauce in a squirt bottle
Shake all of the liquor in a shaker tin over ice (or mix in a pint glass filled with ice).
Take a chilled martini glass and swirl the chocolate sauce in a circular motion around the glass creating a swirly pattern. Strain the liquor into the martini glass and enjoy!
Lois Hornberger, Pacific University, shares a link to Pacific University that you might find interesting. There are also a number of YouTube sites that show “shrimp on a treadmill.” hhtp://www.pacificu.edu/as/biology/faculty/DavidScholnick.cfm
Kathryn Morse, Seattle University, reports that Katie Bowler, their full time event scheduling specialist, started at the beginning of September. Katie worked for them as a student for three years, and they are delighted to have her back. Kathy Engelhart-Okamoto is the part-time event scheduling specialist. Liz Fenn will be “retiring” on January 5. She has worked at Seattle University for 26 years and is headed off to try new and different things.
Please join me in welcoming our new Region 1 members!
Shirley Bean, director of finance & auxiliary services, Highline Community College, sbean@highline.edu
Kathleen Roemer, hospitality services manager, Highline Community College, kroemer@highline.edu
Larry Yok, vp administrative services, Highline Community College, lyok@highline.edu
Katie Bowler, event scheduling specialist, Seattle University, bowlerk@seattleu.edu
Ginger Peck, director of auxiliary services, Pacific Lutheran University, peckgi@plu.edu
From ACCED-I Connections, November - December 2008:
The Region 1 meeting took place October 22 - 24, 2008 at the University of Washington (UW). The UW staff put together a great program. Look for news about the meeting in the next issue of ACCED-I Connections.
Nancy Rau,
Diana Bakkom reports that
Kathryn Morse shares news from
Kate Kelly, Seattle University, just finished managing four events that took place in a LARGE (120’x140’) tent. They didn’t have a facility large enough for the opening of the year events, so they leveled a parking lot and put up the tent. The four events had four different set ups so it was quite amusing – especially when it started raining and the tent leaked. All ended working out but there were some damp, and scary, moments for awhile!
Here at
Michelle Maynard, director of special events at Willamette, has had an extremely busy fall with several high profile events including the dedication of a new Law facility which included a visit from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Do all federal marshalls get their sunglasses in bulk from the same place?) She also has had a major art exhibit opening featuring Native American regalia from all the
Please welcome our newest member:
Kerry Hurst, manger,
From ACCED-I Connections, September - October 2008
For many of you in Region 1, things are starting to settle down as summer conference groups exit campus. For others, it is getting very busy as you plan special events, welcome students back to campus, and other activities. I hope that all of you will be able to take a few minutes to enjoy the sunshine and relax before starting in again. Be sure to put the dates of October 22-24, 2008 on your calendar and join us in
At the regional meeting at
April McGonigal stepped into Stephanie Halton's position at
I have had the pleasure of working with 10 incredible student workers and have given them a lot of leadership and ownership this summer as I have been trying to learn the tricks of the trade to the things that Stephanie did over the summer months: billing, filing, communicating with clients, and fiscal year end spending have been some of the highlights. I am looking forward for the summer to be over so I may take some much needed time off and begin to think through what needs to happen next to make next summer (and even the school year) better! My goals will be devising a new contract, purchasing software for our campus, and implementing a better training program for my summer student workers. Wow – that is a lot!!!
I am looking forward to meeting all of the people in Region 1 as Stephanie spoke so highly of the region and the people working in it. My hope is to be able to meet people at the next regional meeting."
Kathryn Morse, Seattle University, reports that "some pretty big stuff is coming down around here. Our vice president has authorized the use of a consultant so that we can review how we do things in Conference & Event Services, and how the workflow should be best distributed. Liz Fenn will be retiring at the end of the year after more than 25 years at SU, so that'll be really different for everyone here! We are all really examining our job duties and what our service to our customers looks like, and are trying to find the most efficient and effective way to manage our staffing. Each person is coming up with ideas and suggestions, and we are going to meet to determine what our best strategy should be. So, that's pretty cool!" (After hearing about Kari Gastich's baby, she did share that her family got a puppy, named Ripley, right before summer conferences. I know that Kathryn can handle summer conferences, three children and a puppy with one hand tied behind her back!)
We survived a very busy conference season and three major construction projects here at
Sudie Eisenbarth, director of events marketing and support, left
Please take a few minutes and welcome the new ACCED-I Region 1 members:
Sierra Whitlow, manager, conference services,
Mark Dodson, administrative and events service coordinator,
Andrea Stuart,
Elisha Brackett, events manager,
Dawna Allison, market manger, CollegeNET, Inc., dallison@collegenet.com
Bruce Sylva, internet sales manager, CollegeNET, Inc., bruce@collegenet.com
From ACCED-I Connections, June - August 2008
For many of us we are headed into our crazy time of year when we deal with sports camps, those adult groups that need a lot of hand-holding, construction, and the many other issues that make our summers so interesting. Some of our events members may finally have a time to pull themselves together and recuperate after a busy spring. However your summer shapes up, I hope you can find moments to laugh and memories to savor. Remember to make notes to share in the fall issue of ACCED-I Connections. Have a great summer!
Don't forget to put the regional meeting on your calendar. We will be at the University of Washington October 22-24, 2008. We look forward to seeing you there. Thanks to your suggestions at the regional meeting during the Annual Conference, we should have a great program and it is always fun to get together and share stories. You will receive more information later in the summer. If you have questions, please contact Megan or Alice.
News from the Region
Spencer Ellis at Linfield College reports that they just celebrated their sesquicentennial anniversary (that is 150 years!) He says it is amazing to think that they have been around for so long and is glad he will be retired before the college reaches its 200 year anniversary!
The University of Calgary just amalgamated Conference and Special Events with Hotel and Conference Housing to create a new, larger, improved department called Hotel and Conference Services. Ted Gaisford reports that they have a busy summer ahead as both departments were headed into the busiest summer either department has ever had. He maintains a great attitude and says "it's all good, and a lot of fun and it means we can service our clients better as well as get all things streamlined before our new, on-campus hotel opens next fall!"
Holli Redekop at Simon Fraser University reports that "our greatly esteemed Gloria Chu has been granted a one year leave of absence for professional development reasons in order to take advantage of an exciting opportunity to cover a maternity leave at a local credit union. She will be head of community relations, overseeing events and sponsorships and community partnerships for the region. Andrea Stuart, formerly of Meetings and Events at SFU Vancouver has been recruited as associate director during Gloria's leave. Gloria was the 2007 recipient of ACCED-I's Outstanding New Conference and Event Professional award."
In 1991 the College of Idaho was renamed Albertson College of Idaho. Jill Pilote reported that in October of 2007 the name was changed back to College of Idaho.
We are looking forward to some challenges this summer at Willamette University. We have one of the busiest summers in the past few years and major construction projects completely circling one of our major housing areas. I will let you know at the end of the summer how it goes!
Please take a few minutes to welcome the new ACCED-I Region 1 members:
Sandy Moro, events & marketing coordinator, Simon Fraser University
April McGonigal, assistant director of conferences and special events, Whitworth University,
ACCED-I Annual Conference Recap
Over 600 ACCED-I members and guests gathered in Las Vegas last month for the 28th Annual Conference. It was one of the largest gatherings yet for ACCED-I. There were lots of great sessions and a city with too many choices of fun activities. Highlights included a keynote address by Roger Dow on Building a Customer-Focused Team and an endnote address by Dr. John Powers. The conference wrapped up with A Vegas Experience at the Sahara Hotel and Casino and watched a tribute to Elvis, Trent Carlini's "The Musical History of the King."
Region 1 enthusiastically added to the assembly with 40 members in attendance, and many first timers. During the conference, a brief regional meeting took place followed that evening by a great buffet at Treasure Island and the Siren's of Ti pirate performance.
Here are some photos from the conference:
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Next year we're in Boston. Hope to see you there!
Region News
The Region 1 meeting gave us the opportunity to break down into small groups and come up with suggestions on what regional members would like to see from the region's leadership, ideas for topics for the regional meeting in October, and some great recommendations for ways the region can communicate and stay in touch. There was support for a regional listserv and/or blog as well as a desire for current members to reach out to new members with offers of assistance and welcome. Watch for emails and newsletters with details.
Las Vegas saw Stephanie Halton end her year as our regional director. She also announced her decision to leave her job at Whitworth University (the two are not related!) and head for Colorado Springs to be closer to family. Stephanie did a fantastic job and we will miss her smile and hard work. We all send our thanks and best wishes as she makes this move. Stephanie's replacement is April McGonigal. Her email is amcgonigal@whitworth.edu.
The meeting also saw the installation of Katherine Morse as one of two new members to the ACCED-I Board of Directors. It's great to once again have a Region 1 member on the board and Katherine will bring her experience, willingness to take the lead on almost anything, and sense of humor to the board.
As a reminder, our next regional meeting will be held at University of Washington October 22-24, 2008. Mark your calendars now. If any members are interested in presenting at the 2008 meeting, please let us know by sending an email to either Alice or Megan. Thanks again to Leonard O'Connor and Penni-anne Bricker for offering to host us.
Ted Gaisford from the University of Calgary has offered to host the fall 2009 regional meeting. A final decision will be made at the October regional meeting at the University of Washington but it would be exciting to reach out to our Canadian members and make a trip north.
We need news from you! We want to hear about new facilities, staff changes, new babies, notable events, and conference highlights. Several members said they would like to receive more frequent newsletters. That means that all of you need to send information about what is happening in your world. Send it to Alice at asorense@willamette.edu. Feel free to brag about your co-workers as well – or get them to brag about you!
Region 1 is comprised of over 125 members from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Alberta, and British Columbia.
Meet our newest members this quarter. Please welcome them to ACCED-I and region 1!
Stephanie Balagot, conference operations manager, Oregon State University
stephanie.balagot@oregonstate.edu
Alice Dionne, director of continuing studies, University of Washington, Tacoma
Spencer Ellis, associate director of auxiliary services, Linfield College
Corie Goodloe, program manager, University of Washington
Ryan Jones, conference coordinator, University of Washington
Randy Parkinson, university event manager, Brigham Young University – Idaho
Christina Sigler, associate director of university events, University of Portland
Summer Singer, conferences & events coordinator, Whitman College
