Caterers' Gathering Includes Training, Outreach
The 2002 NACE Leadership Conference, held Jan. 5-7 in Charlotte, N.C., drew 110 attendees from association chapters across the country, according to Ed Suddath, NACE executive director. Suddath said that despite the events of Sept. 11, NACE was encouraged to see “attendance stay where it's always been” for the annual gathering of chapter leaders.
Among highlights at this year's conference, Suddath noted, was a panel discussion that focused on ways to maintain and motivate NACE members who may have had their jobs or NACE involvement threatened as a result of 9/11 or the general economic slowdown.
Also noteworthy, he added, was the newly introduced First Time Presidents orientation. The special half-day seminar allowed chapter presidents who had not served in the role before to focus on issues including chapter retreats and educational programs. The seminar also offered an overview of the Chapter Operations Manual — the “chapter leaders' bible,” according to Suddath — as well as the newly revised National Policy and Procedures Manual. “The response [to the orientation] was excellent,” Suddath said. “The evaluations basically said that it was a great way to go.”
Other programs included seminars on CPCE certification and chapter fund-raising, and a presentation by keynote speaker Mary Tribble titled “The Nomadic Journey: The Ancient Tools of Contemporary Leaders.”
For next year's conference, Suddath said, NACE is “looking to add a segment that we may call something like ‘Emerging Leaders,’ so that we're reaching down to people who may not currently be chapter leaders, but may have a desire to be chapter leaders.”
CONTACT: NACE, 5565 Sterrett Place, Suite 328, Columbia, MD 21044; 410/997-9055; www.nace.net.
