ALC Newsletter - 08/01/2011 (Plain Text Version)
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In this issue: |
LEADERSHIP UPDATES A MESSAGE FROM THE AFFILIATE LEADERSHIP CHAIR
Dear Affiliate Leader Colleagues, In this issue we begin with a warm welcome to four new affiliates and their leaders and have a report on the work of the Affiliate Leadership Council (ALC). It was a pleasure seeing many of you at our meeting and events at the 2011 TESOL Convention in New Orleans last spring. It’s hard to believe that summer or winter is now upon many of our affiliates and we are in the midst of planning our 2012 events. WELCOME NEW AFFILIATES & ALC BOARD LIAISON
On behalf of TESOL and the ALC we welcome four new TESOL affiliates and their leaders to the TESOL affiliate leaders’ network:
We also welcome Diane Carter from Indianapolis Public Schools as the TESOL Board Liaison to the ALC. 2011 CONVENTION RECAP The convention in New Orleans this past spring brought together many new and experienced affiliate leaders, beginning with our Affiliate Leaders’ Workshop where we had the opportunity to share successes and challenges in the areas of membership recruitment, fundraising, and political advocacy, as well as have time to meet and greet each other at an exciting World Café Speed Networking event. The World Café gave everyone a chance to quickly meet and network with colleagues old and new. I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the following people for their preparation and facilitation of our breakout groups at the Affiliate Leaders’ Workshop:
Their sessions were a great success. On the basis of input from affiliate leaders, the ALC incorporated the Affiliate Leaders’ Information Session into the Wednesday workshop. This proved to be a positive addition to the workshop and provided an open forum for those new and returning affiliate leaders to gather information from Valerie Borchelt from the TESOL Central Office who supports the ALC and all affiliate leaders. Participants in this session also had the opportunity to share suggestions and recommendations for the Board on how to better serve the diverse needs of affiliates and organizations.
LOOKING AHEAD TO PHILADELPHIA, PA 2012 Overall, the Affiliate Leaders’ Workshops and Assembly received positive evaluations in regards to providing each of you as leaders with time to meet and network. Both events have gone through changes in format over the past few years, based on your input. We have modified these sessions in an effort to truly engage your ideas and opinions. The ALC has consistently passed on your responses and input to the TESOL Board. To this end, we were fortunate this year to have present at our Affiliate Leaders’ Workshops and Assembly Past Presidents Mark Algren and Brock Brady, President Cristina Coombs, and Executive Director Rosa Aronson. Each spoke directly to the affiliate leaders at both sessions about the role you each provide both to your affiliate and to TESOL. They also stated clearly the important contributions affiliates provide to TESOL in terms of professional development, research, and leadership in the TESOL field. The ALC was encouraged by their presence and support at these events. The ALC also wants to thank all of you who participated in the breakout groups at the Affiliate Assembly and shared your recommendations and ideas for other ways that affiliates can benefit and contribute to TESOL. The ALC is working to include the useful suggestions and content provided into our plans, based on your input for the affiliate leader events to be held in Philadelphia. We look forward to seeing many of you in Philadelphia this March 2012―but if you can’t be there, be sure to be a part of our virtual community on the Ning all year round. Watch the Ning in early 2012 for more information regarding events at the convention as well as for the Needs Assessment Survey and other news and information from ALC and your fellow affiliate leaders. IMPORTANT REMINDER FOR 2012 AFFILIATE LEADERS WORKSHOP Please make note that the Affiliate Leaders’ Workshop is held on the Wednesday prior to the official start of the annual convention every year. It is important that affiliate leaders or their representatives attending the convention plan to arrive on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning as the workshop is held in the afternoon. Those affiliate leaders attending the workshop are also invited to a Leadership Lunch sponsored by the TESOL Board. So do make sure you plan your attendance at convention next year to be at the Leaders’ Workshop on the Wednesday before the convention officially begins. Chair-Elect Dorothy Forbin is busy organizing the event for Philadelphia and we look forward to her facilitation of the workshop this year. TESOL & ALC ENGAGING AFFILIATE LEADERS Since New Orleans your Affiliate Leadership Council has been working hard, critically reviewing the affiliate events at New Orleans and preparing for Philadelphia. While the main time for affiliate leaders to gather and share is at the TESOL Annual Convention, it is important to note that TESOL is more than the annual convention. TESOL provides affiliate leaders with other services, including a space for professional and social networking site via an online community/communication known as the Ning. Have you joined yet? It’s a great way to stay informed about TESOL events and services and to stay connected with your fellow affiliates. The ALC has created discussion forums and an events calendar as well as the facility to start your own group within the site. If you are not a member of the site, e-mail me at kcadiero@gmail.com. We will have news in the next edition of the newsletter about a new online community forum that will be part of the TESOL Web site. TESOL has been working to update its Web site and include more direct links for community and communication. Valerie Borchelt has been providing the ALC with information and updates on this transition and we will share this news and process with you in upcoming communications. AFFILIATE LEADERS’ NEEDS ASSESSMENT SURVEY―OUT SOON In addition to providing the ALC and affiliate leaders with guidance and support, Valerie Borchelt from Central Office has also been instrumental in working to inform the TESOL Board of the affiliate leaders’ needs and requests. To this end, Valerie will be sharing with you all in the coming months a Needs Assessment Survey that will ask affiliate leaders to provide input on the type of benefits affiliates value the most as being part of TESOL. I encourage each of you to take the time to complete this survey when you receive it. The ALC will review along with Valerie the input you all provide and present a report of the outcomes and recommendations in upcoming newsletters and at the convention. ALC & TESOL RESPONSE TO AFFILIATE LEADERS One example of how affiliate leader input has been taken up by the TESOL Board was the creation of an Affiliate Leaders’ Booth. This booth was placed prominently in the registration area of the New Orleans convention center. The ALC received many positive comments regarding the location and design of the booth―mostly that it provided a much improved networking space for TESOL members and affiliate leaders. The booth created a strong affiliate presence at the convention and was a busy place that allowed TESOL members an open and exciting space to really learn more about the global connections and nature of TESOL and their affiliates. We also recognize that there were concerns about the conflict of time slots with some affiliate leader events. Unfortunately, this cannot be helped as we do need to have a presence at the booth consistently during the convention, and that requires we have at least one affiliate at the booth Thursday morning through Saturday afternoon. We recommend that those affiliates who have fewer members or leaders present try to sign up early for their time slot. We look forward to having the booth again in Philadelphia and will try our best to accommodate as many affiliates as possible. Watch for the e-mail requesting signup for a one-hour time slot in early 2012. We are pleased that the Affiliate Booth has provided a professional space to showcase the global nature of TESOL for all its members. GETTING INVOLVED―CALL FOR “MEMBER A” NOMINATIONS If you would like to be more involved in the Affiliate Leadership Council I recommend you consider running for Member A. Included in this newsletter is the call for nominations to join the ALC, as our hardworking Past Chair Misty Adoniou will rotate off the council after Philadelphia and we will welcome a new Member A to the council. If you’d like to know more about what it’s like being on the ALC just send an e-mail to any of us―we’d be pleased to share our experiences with you.
Thanks to Janet Pierce, Member A of the ALC, who has worked hard to contact many of you in order to bring you this newsletter. Do check your e-mail for more updates in between newsletters on the TESOL Affiliate Leaders’ e-list and Ning. You can also find more information for affiliate leaders at the TESOL Affiliate Web page. |
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