We are working with consultant, Dr. Ann Atkinson on our plan. In April, Ann, IPRA Chair Allison Niemela, and I all attended various strategic planning focus groups all over the state of Illinois. We held some focus groups, which were open to any member to attend, in some regions we even invited nonmembers to join us and help guide our choices. Additionally, we also held some focus groups that were by invitation only. In total we met with a total of 14 focus groups including at least one focus group in each region, Young Professionals (under 35), section board members, and a Diversity invitational.
Ann and I toured the state making stops in Mount Vernon, Champaign, Rockford, and LaGrange. I am so grateful for all the people who helped us host locations, organize events and meals, and those who came out in each location to share their thoughts with us and help us to see their vision for IPRA. My thanks also to the affiliate organizations in southern, central, and northwest Illinois who helped us market the events. Ann, Allison, and I have all reviewed the dozens of pages of notes that came from these events and see some important trends. Every member who shared with us will know that the strategic plan and the direction IPRA takes these next few years, is directly influenced by their voice. This is your plan and your vision.
In the coming months, Ann and I will use these suggestions and comments to draft a strategic plan. The board, Ann, and I will spend a day going through it this summer making sure it is exactly the correct course for IPRA to take. Ann and I will then make any final changes from the board’s feedback and present it to the board this fall, giving us a few months of "buffer" before the plan takes effect January 1. Please watch this newsletter for updates about our progress.
Last week, we also held the 2nd Annual Education Institute on April 26, featuring Ian Hill. This is our premiere event and designed as a way for IPRA to give back to our members. This year we tried something new and included remote viewing locations around the state. I cannot wait to see the evaluation results from this intense and dynamic presentation!
Also recently, we held the first Leadership Academy Graduation. Evaluations from our first class of Academy participants have been extremely positive. The Education Committee, including Chairs Rick Hanetho and Carrie Haupert-Fullerton, has been hard at work putting together our new curriculum for next year. This will include mentoring, networking, and a joint keynote session. I encourage you to see the brochure and application for next year’s Leadership Academy program on our
website. We will be accepting application until June 3.
Coming up next week, we also have Park Pursuit in La Grange. Support for the event this year has been very strong with more than 150 people participating. It is sure to be a memorable event! Many people say this is THE networking event of the year!
IPRA continues to strive to develop new relationships with like-minded organizations. As one part of that goal, our current Chair, Allison Niemela will be representing IPRA at the Illinois Afterschool Networking conference as a guest presenter on Saturday, May 4. We continue to see value in building these partnerships and collaborations with a wide variety of organizations and appreciate the ongoing conversation that began with Illinois Afterschool Network this past fall.
If you have questions about any of these items, please feel free to email me at
debbie@ilipra.org.
Again, don’t forget to apply for the Leadership Academy program. This is a competitive application and only 30 people from each of our three levels will be accepted into this premiere program. The application has been streamlined, but be sure to give yourself plenty of time to fill it out before the June 3 deadline.
-Debbie Trueblood, CAE
