2013 First Semi-Annual Report
Region 6
submitted by John Miller, Director
Region 6 is doing well. All officer and appointed positions are filled with active members. Two new state coordinators will make transitions into their new positions in Arkansas and Oklahoma this spring. Our two Chapters are going strong. One Chapter, the Association of Missouri Interpreters (AMI) is planning for their annual conference in September in Branson MO. The second chapter is the student chapter at Stephen F. Austin State University. They have shown great activity especially at the recent Spring Workshop in Manhattan KS.
Here are some specifics of how our Region has met our goals.
Newsletter
Region 6 continues to produce an outstanding quarterly newsletter called “VIsions” which is produced by two very capable editors, Jamie Hubert and Katie Raney. These editors have not missed a beat as they transitioned from the previous editors a year ago. VIsions is primarily delivered electronically, but we still have a small number of members who need paper newsletters. We are continuing to have tremendous support from the Texas Collection Archive at the Carroll Library in Baylor University to scan all of our back issues of VIsions newsletters. Once scanned the back issues would be available to all members.
The Association of Missouri Interpeters (AMI) continues to provide 4 issues of the AMIgo newsletter to their Chapter membership.
Workshops
Region 6 conducted a wonderful 4-day Workshop February 24 – 27in Manhattan KS. Committee chairPat Silovsky and her Workshop committee coordinated an exciting and memorable workshop, despite the threat of several inches of snow. A hearty 144 people attended this year’s workshop. In addition to several outstanding concurrent sessions, region awards were presented, fantastic field trips, and both a board and a general membership meeting were conducted. The workshop was both a professional and a financial success. Plans are well underway for 2014 Workshop in Guthrie OK next spring.
Kelly Farrell preparing to ‘pummel’ Ted Cable
Member Services
Region 6 continues to strive for quality in member services.
A huge THANKS to Region 6Webmaster, Dakota Russell for moving our Region web site to a secure location during the malware issue that affected the NAI web site. Dakota and Paul Caputo worked well to make the transition relatively patient. Dakota continues to post the latest workshopinformation, financial aid stipends, and Region news has been posted with regularity and good timing. The webmaster and other region members are maintaining a Face Book page. It is going well.
Three student scholarships were awarded at the Spring Workshop. One was for undergraduate and two for graduate students. These three students were acknowledged at the Spring Workshop and were ‘put to work’ at the scholarship auction. A huge thanks to our new Scholarship Chair, Heather Runyon, for ‘hitting the ground running’ to implement the scholarship application process in less than one week after accepting the position.Once again the generosity of Region members at the scholarship auction allows us to continue providing these scholarships.
Thanks to the generosity of the 2012 scholarship auction, donations above what was needed for the student scholarships were used for financial aid stipends for the 2013 Spring Workshop. A total of 5 Region 6 members received either a full or half waiver of their registration. This was a great service to be able to provide for well-deserving members.
For the first time, Region 6 will be providing two $125 CIG financial stipends to become Certified Interpretive Guides. The announcement was made at the Spring workshop and the applications are now available to members.
At the Spring workshop Region 6 awards were presented to several outstanding members. These awards are a great venue to showcase the tremendous efforts by all members, but especially those who have made significant contributions to our profession. The listing of this year’s award winners is posted on the Region 6 web site.
No mini-grants were awarded this year.
Elections
Region 6 has strived to avoid having a completely new set of officers every two years. In doing so, only two officers are voted into office each year. Director and Treasurer are elected for 2-year terms starting in even years; Deputy Director and Secretary are elected for 2-year terms starting in odd years. Thanks to the excellent work of our elections chair, Kelly Farrell, we have two new Region 6 Officers. The new Deputy Director is Clark Hancock (TX) and the new Secretary is Lisa Cole (TX). We will be conducting elections this summer/fall for Director and Treasurer for the 2014-2015 term. A big thanks to the folks at the National Office for helping with the electronic ballot process.
Two appointed positions will make transitions this spring. Both are state coordinators. Don Simons will succeed Jay Miller as the Arkansas State Coordinator and Karena Minor will succeed Kenton Peters as the Oklahoma State Coordinator.
Board Meetings
Region 6 completed its first 2013Board Meeting on February 24th at the Spring Workshop in Manhattan KS. A big THANKS to Secretary Lisa Cole for gathering reports prior to the workshop. A copy of the 2013 Spring Board Meeting minutes is posted on the Region 6 Web site.
Finances
Region 6 continues to have a healthy account that allows for scholarship and financial aid projects. Our current balance is $24,661.78 While our workshop was in the black this year, our scholarship auction is our greatest source of new income. We really appreciate the generosity of our members to support our student scholarships and financial aid.
We still a limited supply of the “Whisper on the Wind” storytelling CD for funding workshop registrations as well. A huge THANKS to Treasurer Andrea Johnson for putting together a Region 6 financial budget.
Membership
Region 6 membership continues to be strong. Although our current membership is at 729 members, NAI members can choose among multiple Regions. With that said, our Region membership breaks out to
Arkansas: 130 membersKansas: 67membersLouisiana: 21 members
Missouri: 154 membersOklahoma: 44 membersTexas: 183 members
Like other Regions and Sections, we are trying to retain new members and especially members who joined to attend a workshop or when attending a certified training.
Certified Trainings continue to take place across the Region. A Certified Interpretive Guide class will once again be incorporated into the MO Department of Natural Resources “Spring Interpreter’s Training” in May 2013. CIG classes were taught in February and March in Kansas City and Springfield MO. These classes not only provide outstanding training, but help us to recruit more members.
Strategic Plan
Region 6is currently working to fulfill its current Strategic Plan which was approved at the 2012 Spring Board Meeting. Our task this year is to begin moving to align our new Strategic Plan more closely to the new bylaws and the current NAI Strategic plan. A copy of this Strategic Plan can be found on the Region 6 web site.