Greetings from Indiana

Well, when I found out I was travelling to Ft. Wayne, Indiana, I thought of one thing. Road trip - if there are two places in Indiana I have always wanted to visit, it would have to be South Bend to see the Golden Dome or to French Lick (if you don't know why French Lick, ask your dad). Well, South Bend is 122 miles away and French Lick is 231 miles away, so the road trip was off the table. So, now what is one to do in FWayne when it is 23 degrees outside??? Let me tell you......

I had the privilege to fly up today for the GLATA (District 4) meetings. I made this trip with Anna McCain, who is a graduate student for the Razorbacks and the SWATA ATSA Chair. The sole purpose of this trip was to observe the District 4 Student Senate (their equivalent to our ATSA) and see if there were any pointers, tips or ideas that we could borrow and apply to our student organization. We were able to sit down today for five hours and observe their board meeting, take some notes and see how they handle their organization. But, to be honest, my favorite part of the trip was sitting with the 14 young people that make up the board at a reception tonight - we were able to ask them questions, share ideas and basically get to know each other a little better. I have posted it before on this blog and I will post it again - getting to spend some time with Anna as well as the folks from District 4 really energizes me. The passion that I see from them and the professionalism and love for this profession convinces me that the future of this profession is heading in the right direction.

So what did we accomplish after the 3:30 am wake up call, many weather and lightning delays and the cold, bitter wind of Indiana??? I think that between Anna and myself, we have a different perspective and some ideas on how to better engage and empower the youth of our organization. A little plagiarism never hurt anyone and I have to thank the folks from GLATA for allowing us to "spy" a little bit. I look forward to another few hours of meetings tomorrow before we return to the warm environment of home.....what, its cold again in Texas?????

P.S. Once again, I am yet to figure out how our NATA President has enough energy to do what she does and keep track of what city she is currently in? If you have never had the chance to talk with and get to know Marje, make a point to do so in the near future. You will not be disappointed.