Conference Time: A Success!

This past summer, I accepted two board positions, one for the Arkansas Reading Association and another for the Arkansas Teachers for National Board Certification.   After hours of work...and many emails created and sent...I have now attended and enjoyed, maybe, just maybe, what has been the best conference ever...the 44th Annual Literacy Conference, which brought together quite the list of speakers from across the nation, including professional leaders and authors Jeff Anderson, Valerie Ellery, and Marilyn Pryle, authors Margaret Peterson Haddix, Alan Gratz...and many others.  Wow!

Event Coordinator Julie Reardon amazes me with her leadership style.  One day, when I grow up...okay, I'm there!...I want to emulate her, for I truly appreciate her ability to empower.   Earlier this year, because of her recommendation, I was asked to come aboard the Core Conference Committee, a decision that has resulted in a major impact on my life.

I also worked quite closely with Ms. Susan, and when these two began to email, the conversations...yes, multiple ones...at the same time...they flew.  Wow!  Learned much, and my appreciation of this leadership style grew...and continues to do so.

My responsibilities included advertising the conference via email blasts and other created advertisement pieces.  I also designed and created the 48-page program, totally immersing myself in the conference.

Here are a few highlights from the conference:

• Meeting and introducing Jeff Anderson, author of Mechanically Inclined (which my English Dept is reading and discussing) and other works.  Awesome presentations (heard him speak twice), full of mentor texts and many methods to engage readers and writers.
• Helping set up for events...such as Children's Book Awards.
• Dinner with friends and authors and speakers.
• Working on a presentation of my own with peer JimBob Turner, who presented with me when he was a student in my methods class a few years ago.  
• Breakfast with ARA leaders...and having my position officially approved!
• Working with students in our first-ever Student Symposium, which featured authors Margaret Peterson Haddix, Alan Gratz, and Michael Shoulders.  Those kids were meeting stars!  They were so excited...and that excited me!
• Presenting...and having 14 people show up...and share...and leave excited to use what we had discussed.
• Lunch as author Haddix talked about her many books...very interesting.
• Finishing up the most awesome of conferences by planning for the next one.  Yay!

That's right...the planning has begun for the 2018 45th Annual Literacy Conference.  I am ready.