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It
is hard to believe, but as I write this, I am already half-way through
my presidency. The months since our Toronto conference last September
have been full, as always, with activity and thanks to our Program
Committee-so ably chaired by Rose McCool and Donna Mooney-a fantastic
program for the Kansas City conference is now being finalized. Our
mid-year meeting this January in New Orleans saw record attendance of
committee members which was fantastic, and in addition to much hard
work, members of the committees, CLEAR Board, and staff found the
opportunity to meet, mingle, and enjoy the sights and sounds of the
wonderful city that is New Orleans!
We
seized the opportunity while we were all together at the midyear
meeting to have members of our Advisory Committee on Strategic
Initiatives participate in a facilitated session with the view to
reviewing our current objectives and determining what our strategic
initiatives should be in the coming years. The working group, which
consists of the Board of Directors and several appointed members,
identified five interrelated focus areas for accomplishing this vision:
-
Expand, diversify and enhance membership and market base
-
Expand, diversity, enhance and market products/services
- Cooperation with organizations with
similar market base/strategic alliances
- Inclusive and
interactive culture
-
Organizational sustainability
A small working group
consisting of members of the advisory committee will meet in Richmond,
VA in mid-May to flesh out the identified areas and develop direction
statements for Board approval later this spring. Any comments or
thoughts that you might have that would help us in this important task
would, as always, be most welcome.
Call
for Nominations for CLEAR Awards
Among our members are many unsung heroes. We all know talented
individuals who sustain CLEAR by donating their professional resources,
yet would never seek recognition for their efforts. A nominations call
for CLEAR’s annual awards is contained in this newsletter and I’d
like to encourage you to consider making awards nominations, keeping
those who are often overlooked in mind when you do. There are five
awards categories: Service, Member Achievement, Program, Investigator of
the Year, and (for a non-member), Recognition. The nominations deadline
is May 30, 2004. For Awards nomination information, please click here.
21st
Century Regulation: “Show Me What Works”
A flyer
containing full details of CLEAR’s 2004 annual conference in Kansas
City September 30 – October 2 will be mailed to you very soon. As a little
preview, I’d like to announce three exciting plenary speakers that you
won’t want to miss:
- September
30, Julianne D’Angelo Fellmeth of the Center
for Public Interest Law in San Diego;
- October 1, Marjorie Peace Lenn of the Center
for Quality Assurance in International Education; and
- October 2, Dave
Caperton, educator and humorist.
Of course, we’re also offering training in conjunction with the
conference including Basic and Specialized investigator/inspector
programs, board member training, and regulatory leadership development
training. Two useful pre-conference
workshops on examination issues (Show Me the Validity and Show Me How to
Get Past MCQs: New Opportunities in Measurement) are excellent
opportunities for staff and board members to learn from North
America’s leading testing experts.
ADA
Publication Expanded
The expanded and revised edition of CLEAR’s
popular publication, The Americans with Disabilities Act:
Information for Credentialing Examinations, is now
available in the members-only section of CLEAR’s Web site.
Volunteers on the Examination Resources and Advisory Committee
worked hard the past two years updating this valuable information for
CLEAR’s members, and I’d like to thank them for this effort.
Looking
Ahead
In my first
column, I shared a “3M” vision for CLEAR this year in which
increased Marketing of CLEAR’s products and services
would translate into more Members and thus more Money
we could spend on member products and services that would be marketed
and begin the cycle again.
To further our plan, the Board has
considered how, if at all, CLEAR could collaborate with other “like”
organizations to serve our members better and more effectively.
Executive Director Pam Brinegar, Past President Mack Smith, and I have
been in discussion with our counterparts at NOCA to determine what
opportunities and interest may exist, and we will keep you posted as to
the outcomes of our discussion.
In closing, I would like to thank so much Pam Brinegar and the
tremendous staff at CLEAR for their hard work, commitment, and dedication
to me, to the Board, and to CLEAR. Your efforts and ongoing support are much
appreciated!
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