IPRA Today -

The Soaring to New Heights Annual Conference is seven weeks away!

I believe you and your colleagues will love the new look and feel of the public areas of the hotel. The Big Bar is even bigger,and there’s a second bar near it featuring craft beers. There is a beautiful private dining area for meetings and many more areas for congregating and networking throughout the hotel with frequent charging stations for your electronics. The sky-walk, too, now has seating and charging stations, making it easy for you to find many places to network comfortably and spend time one-on-one catching up with your peers. That, plus many new ways to serve you better and improve your conference experience. Our closing social at the House of Blues will be featuring Super Diamond, a Neil Diamond cover band. It will be a party you won’t want to miss! If you haven’t yet, be sure to register for the conference!

Also, be sure to renew your dues. The $15 discount ends December 15, and if you renew on line, you’ll be eligible to win a free I-Pad mini in our raffle. If you are a new member or would like a refresher on how to access our benefits, please join us for a free New Member Webinar on December 13 at 10:00.

In my recent newsletter and magazine articles, I have written about IPRA’s new five-year strategic plan. We are also offering our members more ways to learn about it. We will have a Strategic Plan Roll Out event on December 16 at Bridges of Poplar Creek Country Club in Hoffman Estates. The event is free, and dessert and coffee will be provided. Space is limited so register today. Additionally, I recently presented the new plan to the Membership Council and on December 11 we will be presenting it at a private event for IPRA past chairs/presidents in Tinley Park. We will host regional events in February and March in Chicago-Metro, North West, Central, and Southern Illinois for members to learn more about it in a more convenient location. Watch your email for more information about these upcoming events.

I also want to take this opportunity to welcome IPRA’s new Conference and Meetings Director, Leesa Kuo. She joins us from HERE, a Nokia Company as the Senior Event Specialist and has worked with them since 2007. Her conference and meetings experience dates back to 1992, mostly working at associations, serving as the conference director for American College of Prosthodontists, National Society for Experiential Education, and served in the meetings department of the American Geophysical Union, the Employee Assistance Professionals Association and the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. Leesa is going to make a great addition to our team. I can’t wait for you to meet her at conference!

In summary, as we are now approaching year end, I wanted to remind you of three items for your "to do" list. First, did you renew your membership? There is a discount if you renew before December 15. Second, have you registered for conference? Finally, did you make your year end donation to the Partners of the Illinois Park and Recreation Foundation? These funds go to support professional and student scholarships. Even if you donated last year, this should be part of your annual commitment to the profession. Donate on line!

Thank you to all the members for all that you do and all the ways that you serve. Thank you for your service. Let us know what we can do to serve YOU better!

-Debbie Trueblood, CAE

536 East Avenue, LaGrange, IL 60525 | Phone: 708-588-2280 | Fax : 708-354-0535