Region 6 Past News

At the Fall Summit on November 10-11^th, ACCED I Region 6 members had a great opportunity to learn, network, and tour. This year’s summit, hosted at University of Central Missouri, included a diverse schedule including ALICE training, crisis communication, social media, and leadership training.

Attendees had plenty of opportunities to have fun with an evening of bowling and wine tasting, as well as enjoying the beautiful fall on the University of Central Missouri’s campus! See photos below.

It is my pleasure to announce that the incoming Director-Elect for Region 6 will be Debbie Letterman with Missouri State University. Learn more about her, and make plans to attend the Annual Conference this year and get to know her better. Just another reason to join us at the 2011 Annual Conference!

I received my undergraduate degree in Hospitality and Restaurant Administration from Missouri State University, formerly Southwest Missouri State University in 94’. I worked in the hotel industry from 1995 to 2007 as Front Office Manager, Sales Manager, Catering Manager and Director of Catering. In 2007 I returned to Missouri State University as the Assistant Director Plaster Student Union, Event and Meeting Services. I am in charge of our Conference Services Office and two full time staff as well as the many student employees. Our office is responsible for scheduling all non academic events both in the Plaster Student Union and Academic buildings. Our office schedules over 10,200 events in the Plaster Student Union and over 9,000 events in Academic Space. Our office is also responsible for scheduling of meeting and event spaces for all of the summer camps and conferences which housed over 10,000 participants this past summer. Conference Services has increased the number of reservations for the Plaster Student Union year after year since 2007. I have belonged to ACCED-I since 2007 and was fortunate to attend the National Convention in Las Vegas. ACCED-I has been a valuable support to me in my career here at Missouri State and I look forward to the opportunity to have a leadership position within ACCED-I Region 6.

Region 6 held their fall meeting at Creighton University October 15-16. Although it was a small gathering, the group used the time to get to know each other better, discuss critical issues affecting our businesses today, and have a little fun. Representatives from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln presented a session on Strategies for Staff Scheduling Success which was very well-received, especially by those members who deal with student employment issues. Then Creighton University lead a session on Crisis Planning and dealing with the current H1N1 situation, which lead to a lively discussion amongst the group about how each of their institutions has been affected by the H1N1 virus. The next morning started off with a bit of a personal challenge for each member. The session was called Break Away and it led the group through an activity meant to identify those obstacles, real and perceived, that might be standing in their way and preventing true happiness and success. At the end, each participant was given the opportunity to literally break through the board that represented those obstacles. We’re happy to report that everyone succeeded in breaking their boards, which just goes to show that when you put your mind to it, you can overcome any obstacle! The meeting concluded with a discussion of regional business and lunch, after which we said our goodbyes and parted ways with promises of strengthening those professional bonds and growing new friendships.

The Region 6 fall meeting will be held October 15 - 16 in the Harper Center at Creighton University in Omaha, NE. If there are specific agenda items you would like to see included, or have any questions about the meeting, please contact Jana Ammon at janaammon@creighton.edu. Bring a friend, bring a colleague, or come alone and meet new friends…we hope to see many of you there for lots of fun times and productive discussions!

The Region 6 Fall Meeting will be held October 15-16 in the Harper Center at Creighton University in Omaha, NE. If there are specific agenda items you would like to see included, please contact Jana Ammon at janaammon@creighton.edu. Bring a friend, bring a colleague, or come alone and meet new friends…we hope to see many of you there for lots of fun times and productive discussions!

Annual Conference
Re-connecting at the ACCED-I Annual Conference is always a great opportunity, whether connecting with your state contingency or getting to know others.

The Annual Conference in Boston provided great opportunities for tips, tricks and tools. Our very own outgoing Regional Director Tony Rathgeber, and co-worker, Kristine Olson presented a session on Strategies for Staff Scheduling Success. The session was well attended and received great feedback. Thanks for sharing such great ideas!

The networking opportunities were great this year, from joining region 5 for a night out at the Fire and Ice restaurant, to the evening out at the New England Aquarium. Among the aquatic life, you could see the Iowa contingent gathered for a night of fun.

A Word of Thanks…
A huge thank you goes to Tony Rathgeber, our outgoing regional director. His leadership was greatly appreciated over the past two years, as he not only served as a director for one year, but for two! During that time, he and his team hosted the regional meeting. Thank you, for your time and dedication to both the profession and to ACCED-I, Tony!

Welcome, Welcome!
Jana Ammon is serving as our new director-elect for 2009. Jana started with Creighton University in July 2008 as the assistant director of the Skutt and Harper Centers; she oversees both the marketing and reservations/event planning departments within the student center and the university’s new conference and event facility, the Harper Center. Prior to joining Creighton, Jana worked at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, and also operated as an independent event planner for nearly three years. She enjoys cooking, gardening, and being outdoors, and is a huge Minnesota Vikings fan. She recently married Greg Ammon and lives happily with their dog and two cats in Omaha, NE. Join me in welcoming her to the ACCED-I leadership!

Region 6 has established tentative dates for the regional meeting. Please pencil in October 6-7 in Ames, IA at Iowa State University. Confirmation of these dates and additional info will be coming soon! I hope to see you all in Ames!

The Mike and Josie Harper Center for Student Life and Learning is Creighton University's new student and conference center, slated to open officially on September 5. In addition to classrooms and office space, the building offers conference and meeting planners a fabulous new venue for events in or near the downtown Omaha area. Facilities include a 500 seat auditorium, a grand ballroom, tiered classrooms, and meeting spaces for groups of any size from 10-700. The building also houses a coffee shop, bookstore, sports grill, and fitness center.

Jana Ammon was named as the new assistant director and campus conference coordinator responsible for marketing Creighton University's event spaces, including both the Harper Center and the Skutt Student Center, to external groups seeking a new and exciting venue for their conferences, seminars, and social events.

Iowa State University (ISU) served as host to RAGBRAI, hosting 25,000 people overnight in Ames, IA. Through ISU's Conference Planning and Management office and the Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau planning efforts, the event in Ames went off without a hitch. RAGBRAI's riders were treated to a Styx concert, coordinated citywide shuttles, camping, and fun day events such as an international food festival, wine and food pairings reception, and downtown community entertainment-just to name a few! Best wishes on a great start to the fall semester!

Hi Region 6!

Another semester has concluded at the University of Nebraska and our very busy summer conference season is in full swing. For others, the conclusion of the semester and commencement means a well deserved break for a couple months. Whatever the case, warm wishes for a great summer!

Julie and I are hoping to receive input from you all about dates for the regional meeting in the fall. Please forward me any preferred dates, or dates that do not work for you. We will try to make a decision by the end of summer, so please let us know by then.

You all may have seen the information from ACCED-I regarding the "2010 by 2010" membership drive. One of the goals that Julie and I have is to increase membership and participation from Region 6. If there are other staff members at your school or surrounding schools whose job responsibilities are in line with ACCED-I please forward their contact information to me. Also, I am looking for one person from each state who would be interested in helping us increase membership from our region. If you would like to volunteer to help, please drop me a line (trathgeber2@unl.edu).

Here's to a great summer!

Please join me and the rest of Region 6 in congratulating Julie Kieffer from Iowa State University as the new regional director-elect. For those of you who know Julie I'm sure you can see how she'll be a tremendous asset to our region and ACCED-I. Julie, I'm looking forward to working with you over the next year!

The University of Nebraska would like to welcome Jessie Brophy to the Conference Services department. Jessie will use her experience in catering and event planning to head up the sales and marketing efforts, coordinate services for special conference events, and administer the event software system. Jessie will be joining the rest of the University of Nebraska staff in Las Vegas so everyone will have a chance to meet her. Welcome aboard Jessie!

Region 6 is looking forward to the Annual Conference in Las Vegas and working to plan our regional dinner and maybe something fun afterwards. That shouldn't be hard since we're in Vegas! Region 6'ers, let me know of suggestions and preferences.

Best wishes for a great 2008!

On September 24 and 25 Region 6 held it's fall regional meeting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dan Gette presented on One-Stop Shops and Chuck Salem gave a two part presentation on Improving Your Business. The attendance reached 23, which from what I've been told is the most we've had in nearly a decade! Three of those attendees even came from a neighboring region, so we've officially adopted University of South Dakota as an honorary member of Region 6! Julie Kieffer from Iowa State University is now serving as the regional director-elect! Congrats to Julie and thanks to everyone who helped with and attended our regional meeting!

The dates have been set for the Region 6 meeting! Please mark your calendars for September 24-25 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We have a great mixture of fun, educational, and networking activities planned. This is certainly one that you won't want to miss! Look for more information to come to your mailbox soon. If you have additional questions please contact Tony Rathgeber at trathgeber2@unl.edu or 402-472-5063.

Creighton University in downtown Omaha, Nebraska is underway with the construction of the Harper Center for Student Life and Learning. This new facility will boast almost 220,000 square feet, comprised of administrative offices, a bookstore, a convenience store, a sports bar, a 500-seat theatre, 10-12 classrooms, 15 meeting rooms, a grand ballroom, and a private dining room for the president. Completion is scheduled for the end of summer 2008. With the addition of this great new facility, Creighton is hoping to reach 6,000 reservations a year on campus. For more information on the Harper Center for Student Life and Learning, please contact Connie Aliano at conniealiano@creighton.edu

The Annual Conference in Baltimore was a great one for our region. Not only have we filled the Regional Director position that has been vacant for the last couple of years, but it really felt like huge strides were made in getting to know one another and sharing resources. Our regional attendance in Baltimore surpassed that of Dallas and I believe is the mark of a renewed energy and involvement in ACCED-I. We even have a fun, new nickname for Region 6….The MINKs (Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas)! Who knows, maybe we’ll even have t-shirts to wear in Las Vegas next year.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will serve as the site for our next regional meeting this fall. We’re hoping to build on the momentum from the Annual Conference with a large number of members in attendance and high-quality educational programming. Region 6 members, please forward on your ideas for topics, as I have a couple of presenters lined up from the ACCED-I home office and Unique Venues that can present on a multitude of topics.

With the busy summer season directly in sight and a long “To Do” list from all that was learned in Baltimore, I bid you all a smooth (and profitable) summer!