Greetings, NMRT members and friends!
“What is your greatest weakness?” It’s a question that I know many of you have had to answer in a job interview and one that the rest of you will likely encounter at some point in the near future as you prepare to leave library school and join the library profession. I’m sharing it with you now, because one of my greatest weaknesses when it comes to this column is being overwhelmed by how amazing my NMRT experience has been and, as a result, waiting until the very last minute to begin writing out of a fear that I won’t be able to express it in just a few short paragraphs.
As we prepare for Annual Conference in Las Vegas, and I near the end of my presidency, I hope that you will allow me a moment of sentimentality and will accept my humble gratitude for all that you, as members and friends, have done in this past year to support this round table and me, personally. Thank you.
But enough about me! Annual Conference in Las Vegas is just a month away, and it promises to be a blast! NMRT is hosting our usual array of events, including our ever-popular Conference Orientation (Friday, June 27 at 1:00 p.m.) and our newly updated NMRT 101 program (Saturday, June 28 at 8:30 a.m.). I encourage those of you who are new to NMRT and/or the Annual Conference to attend at least one of these programs. Also, both members and non-members are welcome at our Student Reception, where we’ll be recognizing the Student Chapter of the Year, and our Awards Reception, where we’ll be toasting our grant and award winners. Both events will be held at the LVH on Sunday evening. Visit www.alaannual.org for the full schedule of conference programs and events.
Finally, I want to congratulate NMRT’s newly elected Executive Board Members and thank those who are continuing on the board for another year for their ongoing service:
- Megan Hodge, President
- Kirby McCurtis, Vice President/President-elect (newly elected)
- Emily Prather-Rodgers, Past President
- Jonathan Lu, Treasurer
- Easter DiGangi, Assistant Treasurer/Treasurer-elect (newly elected)
- Mandi Goodsett, Secretary (newly elected)
- Kate Kosturski, Leadership Director
- Kari Weaver, Members Services Director
- Tinamarie Vella, Networking Director (newly elected)
- Kelly Trowbridge, Outreach Director (newly elected)
- Rachael Altman, NMRT Councilor (newly elected)
- Cory Lampert, Fundraising Coordinator
As always, I welcome and truly value any questions or ideas you may have. Don’t hesitate to contact me at any time.
See you in Vegas!
Emily
P.S. I’m sure you’ll be offered plenty of how-to-conference tips in the next few weeks, but I suspect that “dress in layers” and might be the most important one this year. The average high outdoors is 100 degrees in June, but meeting facilities are notoriously over-air conditioned. There’s really not a dress code for ALA events, but I tend to lean toward business casual. Regardless, conference is so much more enjoyable when you’re comfortable.