We all converged on the
Hyatt Regency Dearborn for the 33rd AIRS Annual Training and
Education Conference from June 5-8.
Over 90 speakers presented workshops on topics organized into nine
tracks to allow participants to refresh their skills and bring new ideas back
to their workplaces.
Conferees were even
inundated with information during their meals.
Strategic planner and consultant Max Valiquette spoke at the Opening
Breakfast about the need to use social media and digital technology to connect
to the new generation we’re now beginning to serve, and Dr. Kathryn J. Kotrla
brought our attention to the ongoing stresses suffered by veterans returning
from duty tours (usually more than one) in Iraq and Afghanistan during the
closing luncheon. The physical and
psychological traumas incurred by the returning warriors will impact them,
their families, and our communities for years to come, and all of us in the
human and social services need to prepare ourselves to help them deal with
them.
There were numerous
opportunities for participants to network with each other. Gaggles of Conference bag toting people
could be seen trudging across the parking lot headed to the food court at the
adjacent Fair Lane Town Center Mall through the stifling heat. (AIRS had to schedule the damned Conference
during the hottest early June in recent memory.)
And then there were the
scheduled social events. Over 400 of us
boarded the Detroit River Princess that Monday night for a buffet dinner,
dancing to a Motown revival band, and an evening cruise up to Lake St. Clair
and back to downtown Detroit. The deck
railings were crowded with Michiganders pointing out landmarks as we cruised
past them (and with disgruntled smokers happy that they’d found a place where
they could puff away without being harassed).
The nation’s only marble lighthouse (on Belle Isle). The Manoogian Mansion, the official
residence of Detroit’s Mayor. Exotic
Canada on the other side of the river.
The bejeweled Ambassador Bridge off in the distance.
The Friends of AIRS Silent
Auction and Dance on TU night permitted participants another chance to get
together to renew old friendships and form new ones while raising over $3,000
for scholarships to allow deserving individuals to attend future
conferences. (Francie Kranzberg did her
usual fine job of organizing the event, even though she had to return to DC
earlier that day.)
Behind the Scenes
Conferences on this scale
don’t just happen. Sharon Galler of
STAT Marketing and her staff did their usual fine job of laying the groundwork
for the Dearborn event. The AIRS Board
of Directors’ Conference Committee managed to line up speakers on a remarkably
diverse and relevant set of topics. And
a lot of MI-AIRS folk helped prepare for the event.
Dick Manikowski (who retired
from the Detroit Public Library’s TIP Service two years ago) tried to build
interest in the Great Lakes State by a series of 57 daily posts (from April 10
– June 5) to the AIRS Networker about Michigan history, trivia, and
socioeconomics. (Anyone masochistic
enough to want to revisit those posts can download an updated, illustrated, and
indexed version of them here.)
Ed D’Angelo of The
Information Center proposed to the MI-AIRS Board that we undertake a
professional video illustrating what I&R is and the many ways in which it
benefits our communities. Despite
initial skepticism by some Board members, Ed convinced us that the project was both
feasible and worthwhile. TIC had worked
on previous occasions with videographer Brad Richter, and Ed had a woman
working in his office (Dina) who had also worked with Brad in the past.
One big problem was coming
up with the needed funds. While Brad
supports the cause of I&R, he could hardly be expected to donate his
services. Luckily AIRS agreed to
contribute toward the project (provided that its focus not be limited to
I&R in Michigan but instead be relevant to the wider I&R community),
and many of the agencies that employ
MI-AIRS Board members also kicked in a total of $1,800.
Once the funds had been
raised, Ed & Dina sought input and interviews from Board members. Brad traveled to several locations
throughout the state to shoot footage.
The end result (if that link doesn't work for you, browse to vimeo.com/24591318) pretty much stunned the Board members who had commissioned it. When it was shown to Conference attendees
during the Opening Breakfast, the reception was great.
Thank
you for your vision and your persistence, Ed.
You did know what you were talking about. And thank you for your beautiful work, Brad and Dina.
Volunteers Needed
A veritable plethora of
volunteers were needed to do all sorts of ignominious tasks, including:
- stuffing Conference bags
- helping out with registration
- people moving—directing traffic to and from
sessions and events within the hotel
- posting signs outside the meeting rooms
announcing the various workshops
- monitoring each workshop
The
Board put out a call for volunteers through the MI-AIRS listserv, and Angela
Sullivan from CALL 2-1-1 of the Lakeshore in Muskegon got us all organized. She
conducted a helpful Webinar to prepare volunteers for the tasks they would be
assigned.
And Then It Was Showtime
All things considered,
everything came together beautifully.
There were the usual hiccups and snafus, but nothing major. The hotel didn’t lose power. Nobody had to call the police. The boat didn't sink. Best of all, none of the organizers stroked out.
Based on the tabulated
results of the online survey completed by nearly 50% of registrants, our
visitors were pretty pleased with the Conference in the ‘D.
- 43.3% of respondents reported that the quality
of the workshop speakers was excellent,
while another 50.4% rated it good.
- 86.0% rated the variety of workshop topics
either excellent or good
- 87.2% either agreed
or strongly agreed that the sessions provided useful information
- 96.7% found Max Valiquette’s remarks at the
Opening Breakfast either excellent
or good
- 95.5% rated the evening river cruise event
either excellent or good
Naturally, there were some
complaints. While most respondents said
the session rooms were good, several respondents noted that sounds from
adjoining workshops sometimes made it difficult to understand the speaker in
their own workshop. Many complained
that the only place within easy walking distance of the hotel was the
Mall. Others complained that the venue
should have been a downtown hotel—that the Conference was held in Dearborn,
rather than Detroit. (Ironically, there
were a couple of complaints that it was held too close to Detroit. Stereotypes are hard to kill.)
But it was what it was. AIRS has a limited budget to work with, and
Sharon and the AIRS staff and the Conference Committee can’t always get what
they’d ideally want. Everyone would
have loved to have had the social event at The Henry Ford rather than on the riverboat,
but we couldn’t come up with funds to meet their demands.
And Sharon, the AIRS Staff,
and the Conference Committee can’t put on a conference without a substantial
boots-on-the-ground commitment by a local affiliate.
In 2011, MI-AIRS was the
local affiliate. We did a good job,
people. Let’s hear it for US.
And
let’s see our Louisiana AIRS colleagues match this next year in New
Orleans. They’ve got a big mitten to fill. And that's just the lower peninsula.