FROM THE PRESIDENT
Cathy Gerhart
Each OLAC President gets four chances in this column to communicate his or her concerns, ideas, and hopes to OLAC members. Incredibly, this is my fourth and final opportunity. Last Fall, in my first column, I was looking forward to a productive and energized year; in my second column I was agonizing over some very difficult decisions that the Board needed to discuss, and in my third column I was eager for all of you to step up and be OLAC’s future by volunteering for one of the many opportunities OLAC currently has open. In this column I would like to look at what we have done and what we still need to do.
First, I would like to congratulate the two people that were elected to serve OLAC in the capacity of Vice-President/President Elect and Secretary. Rebecca Lubas was elected to the Presidency and Amy Weiss is our new Secretary. We had an excellent slate of candidates this year with three people running for each position. I cannot remember when we have had such an excellent slate in both numbers and quality of candidates. Thanks to the Elections Committee, Kevin Furniss, Lowell Ashley and Patricia Thompson for helping put together a successful election.
Second, I would like to encourage all of you to look back at the last issue of the Newsletter. In it there were calls for volunteers for a number of positions in OLAC. The response to our call was not overwhelming, so if you have been waiting for an invitation, please consider this your invitation to volunteer. We continue to take names of people interested in all the positions listed there. So, if you have any interest in helping OLAC remain the strong and vital organization that it has been, please contact me. If you are interested in volunteering and are not certain where your talents might best be used, call or write me and we can discuss what might be a good fit for your time and ability. Many of the positions only require a couple hours a month and some require no previous experience, just a willingness to learn. The people currently holding the positions are always eager to help the new appointee.
One of the accomplishments of the OLAC Board this year was its successful application to have an official liaison to CC:DA. This position will replace our previous "Audience Observer" position. We are thrilled that, after two previous bids, we finally have attained an official voice on this committee. Soon, we hope to announce who will be the first person to fill the position. Iris Wolley, Robert Freeborn and John Attig assisted me in putting together the proposal. If you see them in Orlando, please let them know we are grateful for their help on this successful project.
Lastly, I want to say a few words about our upcoming Conference in Montreal. As the Board Liaison to the organizers of this Conference, it has been my great pleasure to spend the last year and a half working with the Conference Committee on this event. It is going to be a great Conference with excellent speakers, topics and innovations. I have been impressed by their thoughtful attention to every detail of planning this experience for OLAC. I must say, it will be a Conference not to be missed! The registration forms are available in this issue.
My most sincere thanks to the other Board members who have helped me survive my year as President. I have enjoyed working with each one of you and am looking forward to a year as Past President to become the support mechanism for each of the new Board Members.
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Last updated: June 16, 2004
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