The Conference Never Ends

by Lori Alexander
AMWA Journal Editor

The session rooms are shut down and the hallways of the Milwaukee Hilton are no longer full of AMWA members. Although the networking conversations and the sessions are but memories, the conference experience is not over. Not by a long shot.

I think that all of us attendees agree that the conference was a wonderful learning opportunity, and on some days, during some time slots, we wished we could have cloned ourselves so that we could take advantage of more than one session. Because cloning has not been perfected yet, the AMWA Journal is once again bringing coverage of conference sessions to all AMWA members. This year, the Journal is going one step forward to ensure that the conference never ends for us.

In keeping with tradition, the December issue will contain brief reports on several conference sessions, and they will be featured as part of an online-exclusive section of the Journal. Be sure to watch for that section to go live on the AMWA Web site in early December. Never before has news from the conference been made available in the Journal so quickly after the conference! The section will also include the inaugural address by our new President, Melanie Fridl Ross, MSJ, ELS, an introduction to the members of the new Executive Committee, and details about the many awards given out at the Sablack Awards Dinner on Friday night.

The March 2011 will feature more brief reports of sessions, as well as an enhanced version of Marianne Mallia’s Swanberg Address: “Demons and Idols…and a Blue Corvette.” If you were at the dinner, I’m sure you agree that Marianne’s speech chronicled an amazing career, with inspiration and applicability to us all. I’m so happy we can share her speech with the entire membership through the Journal. The March issue will also feature some accounts from first-time attendees. It’s always good to see the conference experience through their eyes. And I hope that the articles prompt other members to say, “Hey, I think I’ll go to the conference next year!”

What’s new this year about conference coverage in the Journal? Thanks to the tremendous generosity of many open session moderators, full-length feature articles on select sessions will be included in future issues of the Journal. I thank the many moderators who, in addition to assembling a panel and developing a successful session, also agreed to work with their speakers to write a manuscript and submit it to the Journal. As a result, all AMWA members, whether they came to Milwaukee or not, will be able to benefit from the expertise of these panelists. A manuscript based on the AMWA-CMR survey has already been submitted, and several more are in process.

Thanks to the AMWA Conference Blog, you don’t have to wait patiently for reports. The blog is a great way to get highlights from sessions while waiting for Journal coverage. And though the blog entries will be winding down soon, the educational value of the conference is never-ending.

Related links:
AMWA Journal Blog
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