President's Letter

Get Connected. Get Inspired. Be Creative and Innovate.

UCEA InFocus, January 2008 (PDF)
Richard Novak, UCEA President 2007-2008

Have you heard of the new professional network adopted by UCEA? Of course you have, it's UCEA Connect and we are looking for all UCEA members to be Connected

The reason?

Actually, there are many and here are a few examples:

UCEA members can set up their own personal profile, have their own blogs and podcasts and easily connect with other UCEA members.
All Association-wide blogs on the site are open to all UCEA members, including specific discussions targeted toward the Regions and Communities of Practice.
UCEA Connect's Web-based discussions offer several advantages over traditional email listservs-archives are available that members can view at any time, comments on discussion threads won't clog inboxes or become subject to spam filters, and "out-of-office" and other automatic replies won't be triggered.

Members can view the profiles of colleagues, subscribe to areas of interest to receive email alerts when new posts are made, and upload documents to share with other members rather than having to send attachments via email.

UCEA Connect also makes it easy to find colleagues who share similar professional backgrounds, interests or duties.

So, Get Connected.

Once you are Connected, you will see that there is much interesting content on the site already and many ongoing discussions. You need to be Connected so you don't miss out on anything, especially the preparations for the Annual Conference. One of the exciting new features of this year's Conference is the live blogging and podcasting that will be done onsite from the Conference and presented on UCEA Connect. Actually, there is a Conference-related podcast already posted and blogging will begin prior to the Conference to help get you oriented.

So, Get Inspired.

This year our annual conference will travel back to New Orleans, The Big Easy and the Crescent City. These nicknames capture New Orleans' critical roles as both a cultural center and economic hub. I invite and encourage you to attend UCEA's 93rd Annual Conference, "Inspiration, Creativity, Innovation and all that jazz," where both aspects of New Orleans will be on display and interwoven into this exciting conference. I think you will see that this Conference embodies the creativity, innovation and the spirit of renewal that is blossoming anew in the city of New Orleans.

It is no secret that tourism is a primary driver of the regional economy in New Orleans and, with this in mind, the city has eagerly been inviting guests back. At the same time, many visitors want to help rebuild the city, to give something back. UCEA is no exception and has enthusiastically inaugurated a community service project, in cooperation with the New Orleans Recovery School District for March 24th and 25th, as an integral part of this year's Conference. We will have the opportunity to help schools in the rehabilitation of libraries, playgrounds and assist with other school needs.

Be Creative.

The preliminary program has been mailed and the UCEA Web site is the source for the latest up-todate information about the Conference, including online registration. Our headline speakers are amazing: Donna Brazile, Timothy Beatley and Ambassador Chas. Freeman. We have terrific concurrent sessions that will both highlight some of the best that our profession has to offer and will challenge us to think about our field in more creative and expansive ways, with an eye to the future.

Innovate.

And all of this gets wrapped up neatly in a musicbased theme of four tracks: the musicians, the ensemble, the audience, and the score. The setting is a newly renovated hotel in the heart of the historic French Quarter, close and convenient. You don't want to miss this Conference.

So, get connected. Then come to New Orleans. Be inspired. Get creative. Innovate. And enjoy the jazz.

Rich Novak