2006 Past President

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March 2006 The SoDakSACA board met for a working retreat in January at the Ramkota River Center in Pierre over a Saturday and Sunday. The by-laws were rewritten after lengthy review and will be voted on at the October annual membership meeting at the fall conference.  We partnered with SD Voices for Children in February for their Children’s Day at the Capitol, since we were unable to host our own annual Afterschool Day at the Capitol event, due to low numbers of programs wanting to participate.  Have a great spring! Ann

Ann Erickson Sisseton Past President

June 2006

My youngest daughter just called and has been offered a teaching position.  Hallelujah!  She is going to summer school and will graduate with a master’s degree in August, and then getting married on September 2^nd.  I didn’t realize how stressed I was about her having a job until tonight when she called.  I feel like a big weight has been lifted!  (Mother’s continue to worry even when they have an empty nest!)

I also had a nine month old granddaughter in the hospital last week and a new granddaughter born a week earlier with possible kidney problems but everything has checked out okay.  What a month!!  It is just a big reminder to live each day and enjoy the small things in life and not to worry about the things we have no control over.  As the school year ends, and our summer programs begin I would like to remind everyone to tell their staff to enjoy the kids and have fun with them.   Summer can be stressful, but we need to take it one day at a time!  Too often we get hung up on how structured we would like the program to run and need to relax and go with the flow. 

Summer will fly by because of all the fun activities we cram into our weeks and school will be starting before we know it!  So, mark your calendars now for the next SoDakSACA conference in Pierre on October 6-7.  The conference committee is working hard to have a conference that will help “design the future” for you!

During our January board meeting, we reviewed our by-laws, and have recommended some changes the full membership will need to vote on.  You will find them in the June newsletter.  Please take time to read through them, as you will have a chance to vote on them at the annual meeting in October. 

We held our June board meeing over DDN, with much of the discussion centered around plans for the fall conference.  At the June board meeting, the board approved covering the costs of sending Joan Severson (President-Elect) and me to the summer National AfterSchool Association’s summit for affiliate leaders.  The meeting will be held July 13-14 in Detroit.  It was felt that South Dakota needed to have a presence at these national meetings, not only to get needed information from NAA, but to also have input as one of the affiliate states to our national organization’s planning efforts. 

Have a great summer!

Ann

September 2006 – President Ann Erickson

Vice President, Joan Severson and I attended the NAA affiliate leaders' summit in Detroit, July 13 & 14^th .   Affiliate leaders from over 25 states came together with NAA leaders to discuss where NAA is going from here, and how NAA can work together with the affiliates to increase membership and provide benefits to its members.  More information on the meeting will be forthcoming in a later update. 

NAA has been going through some major changes in the last year.  Jay Younger of McKinley Marketing, Inc led the meeting.  This firm helps associations achieve their visions. One of the many items that was discussed is NAA’s and the state affiliates’ core purpose.  It was decided that it is essential that we have a single core purpose to demonstrate unity to the field and describe succinctly what we do.   It needed to be short so people could remember it.   After much discussion we came to the conclusion that:  The ‘core purpose’ of the National AfterSchool Association and its State Affiliate organizations is to serve the afterschool professional.  NAA’s board of directors expect to adopt this core purpose at its next meeting which will be held in October 2006.  It was a very interesting meeting and Joan and I appreciated being able to attend to represent South Dakota. 

In the meantime, remember to spread the word about our upcoming fall conference "Designing the Future Together" in Pierre on October 6-7, 2006.  We have a variety of top-notch keynotes and workshop presenters this year, and we’re hoping all programs in SD are represented this year!

See you at the conference!

Ann

December, 2006:

A wonderful SoDakSACA conference was held in Pierre.  Numbers were down but the speakers were dynamic and many felt it was one of the best conferences we’ve had!  At the yearly business meeting election of new officers was held and new board members are:  Stacey Ross, VP of Finance (Treasurer); Heather DeWit, VP of Membership (Newsletter); and Melvin Hill, Central Region Rep.  Linda Merkwan was also elected as SE Region Rep for two more years.  We said good-bye to Karla Johnson and Laura Dimock and filled a vacant Central Rep position. 

The SACCY award was presented to the “Women of Wessington” and recognition was given to Brookings, Flandreau, and Kids Inc for achieving their national accreditation.  All programs were urged to make a Christmas decoration for the SoDakSACA Christmas tree for the annual ‘Christmas at the Capitol’.  Marianne Freng, Huron JUNGLE and I traveled to Pierre on a Saturday to decorate the tree.  We also encouraged programs to apply for a program booth and attend the After School Day at the Capitol in February.  I said “Good-By” as the acting president but will remain on the board as Advisor to the new president Joan Severson.