Mike Sherman made the determined announcement. "There will," he said, "be a Great Plains Region meeting."
There was. It became the capstone of an outstanding year of progress for APSE.
Phil Kaplan detailed much of that progress in his column last month.
To me, none has been more significant than the strengthening of our regions.
When Mike made that announcement in Salt Lake City about a Great Plains meeting in July — the Southwest had previously scheduled its meeting for July as well — every APSE region (and, yes, I’m not counting Canada) would hold a professional development program during the 2009-2010 APSE year.
And that’s what the regions are all about: professional development at the local level.
Since the early years of APSE, leaders have recognized that judging and national conventions are out of reach for the majority of our members and that our regions are the true backbone of APSE. Indeed, the only personal connection to APSE for many members are our region meetings.
After several years of decline, attendance at our national convention turned upward this year, certainly an encouraging sign.
Yet, consider this: Combined attendance for all of regionals this past year was nearly three times what we had in Salt Lake.
We must continue to build upon this success.
Region meetings take place throughout the year, and several regions meet more than once.You can attend any you choose, as can any member of your staff or even local students. You do not need to be an APSE member to attend, so it’s also a great opportunity for outreach.
Invite a non-member in your area to join you on the drive. And not only do I encourage you to make plans to attend, I ask you to become an active participant.
As a former region chair, I can tell you each of our local leaders would love to hear your suggestions for the sessions you’d want to see. Better yet, they’d love for you to volunteer to lead one, or assist someone else. I guarantee you won’t be turned away.
The strength of our regionals is directly tied to the quality of the professional development offered. Take something you do well and teach others. Or attack something you don’t know so well, but want to. Learn everything you can, then teach your colleagues. You’ll be better, and so will they.
Many of our seminars at the national conventions began as region sessions. Likewise, if there was something at national you heard was particularly outstanding, we can work to send that presenter to your local meeting.
Our foremost goal is to give you an opportunity to improve as a sports journalist, to grow as a leader in your newsroom. We want you to be able to take at least one day out of an insane schedule to think, to collaborate, to learn, to interact.
As this new APSE year gains momentum, two regionals already have been scheduled.
The West, under the leadership of chair Lauren Gustus and vice chair Mark Faller, is meeting on Nov. 8 in Reno. They’ve announced an ambitious schedule.The Northeast, led by Matt Pepin and Hank Winnicki, is meeting Dec. 6 in Hamden, Conn.
If you’re not sure who leads your region, click on the leadership tab to the left on the home page. Then give the chair a call. Like I said, our chairs want to hear from you and incorporate your input.
Under the guidance of our local leaders, and you, every region will again meet, and I believe — as we increasingly get a handle on this digital revolution — the sessions will be even better.
Mike Sherman, thank you.
