Thursday, August 14, 2003
Those Autumn Winds
It’s likely just our imagination, but many of us in Chicago swear we can feel a hint of autumn wafting through our August mornings. To be sure, our sultry days are far from over, but Midwesterners find it especially hard to let go of summer. The season here by Lake Michigan is such a fleetingly short one. In spite of the melancholy for summer’s end, I always look forward to fall, when the pace picks up and we refocus our energies on the year ahead.
It will be a busy season for AALL. In September, the Centennial Celebration Special Committee, Chaired by Carol Billings, Director of the Law Library Law Library of Louisiana, will meet and begin planning AALL’s 2006 centennial in earnest. The celebration will begin at the July 2005 Annual Meeting in San Antonio and conclude in July 2006 with activities throughout the year. It’s quite an exciting task, you will be sure to hear more about it in the months ahead.
In October the Law Library Journal/Spectrum Editorial Board meets. Chaired by Camille Broussard, Associate Librarian for Reader Services New York Law School Library, the Editorial Board will address a range of issues concerning content, delivery vehicles, and in meeting the short term and long term needs of law librarians.
In October, the Executive Board Finance & Budget Committee meets. We are still keeping a close watch on the AALL budget and this meeting, early in our budgetary year which begins October 1, gives us a chance to examine in detail the prior year final results and to strategize economies for the year ahead.
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| AALL Treasurer Anne Matthewman in action |
In November, the Executive Board meets. The two and a half day meeting will include an orientation for new board members, a facilitated strategic retreat, and the business meeting. While November may seem a long way away, it’s never too soon to submit an agenda item. To make it easy, we developed an online form. If you have any questions or concerns either President Janis Johnston or I will be happy to assist you in any way we can.
Meet the Staff
Heidi Letzmann, Program Coordinator for Meetings and Special Events
If you have ever put together a proposal for an annual meeting program, scheduled a session speaker, or produced handout materials, chances are you have had the pleasure of meeting Heidi Letzmann. The details that go into planning an annual meeting are voluminous and Heidi is the one tasked to handle many of them.
Heidi works directly with Pam Reisinger, our Meetings Manager, the Annual Meeting Program Committee, program coordinators and program speakers. She oversees the preparation and editing of annual meeting publications, and works with contractors and consultants for printing, registration, housing and travel at the annual meeting. She accomplishes all of this and more with unflappable gracefulness and a desire to be truly helpful.
When she’s not assisting AALL members, she’s singing soprano in Old Town Cool. Reviewers are quite enthusiastic about the group, and say the quartet “brings its own unique touch to favorite swing classics first made famous by such legends as The Four Freshmen, Rare Silk, & The Manhattan Transfer.”
Sincerely,
Susan E. Fox, CAE
Executive Director