It’s a new year and a new day, and while it’s VERY cold today, I feel optimistic about the year ahead and the hope that it holds. Our famous groundhog may have predicted six more weeks of winter, but I still smell (maybe it’s my floral candle that is burning) the hint of spring in the air and feel the expectancy and excitement that I often do with the approaching spring season.
This years KACRAO Conference is being held virtually. We would love to see as many of you as possible to join us via Zoom for the following events!
September 3- Raise Your Glass KACRAO Social @ 7pm
September 18- Marketing Amidst Chaos- Stoneking Consulting – Monica Stoneking @10am
September 23- KACRAO Annual Business Meeting
President-Elect Message:
When I agreed to take on the KACRAO President-Elect role, I already knew 2020 was going to be a challenging year for me personally between work and life commitments amongst other things. Little could I have known the even bigger ride that was in store for all of us, and the life altering pandemic that would impact us all. I personally would never have imagined implementing a CRM from my bedroom by laptop, but here we are 2020. I know some of you have worked long lonely hours, struggled with illness, have been overwhelmed with racial and societal divides, taken on additional roles as K-12 educators in your households, and grappled with lost income, activities, and even anxiety to go to the grocery store, let alone on how to keep your campuses and students moving forward successfully.
Regrettably, we have come to the difficult decision to cancel the Summer Drive-In and Annual KACRAO Conferences this year. This was not an easy decision for the Executive Council to make, however, we do believe it is in the best interest of the organization and our membership. Many factors went into this decision including the implementing of travel restrictions, Professional Development budget cuts, cost of conference site, and the possibility of low attendance, to name a few of the deciding factors.
I am happy to announce that we will still have our Annual meeting on Wednesday, September 23 virtually. We hope you all will be able to join us for the meeting. Our dedicated Programs committee will still be working hard to provide Professional Development sessions virtually throughout the fall. Keep an eye open for these notifications to come at a later date.
It hurts my heart to send out this e-mail knowing I won’t get to see our KACRAO people this fall, however, I know many of my KACRAO family will be there for support if and when I need it, and I hope you all feel the same!
As always, if you need anything, please feel free to reach out to myself or our Executive Council Board Members.
Thanks,
Tana
As I'm writing this, I'm halfway through Day #2 of manning our virtual booth for the GoToCollegeFairs.com virtual fair that several of you are manning booths at as well. While some might think going virtual would be MUCH easier than packing all your wares into what I like to call our giant "Mary Poppins Magic Bags of College Wonder" and herniating discs from loading/unloading said bags sometimes 3-4 times a day/3-4 days a week in order to hit every college/career fair you possibly can while traveling hundreds of miles in just a few months travel time, I'm finding this switch of format is no walk in the park (yes - I was one who thought it'd be easier...I now stand corrected).
While many of the challenges are the same (making sure your booth is eye catching, that you have relevant/up-to-date information, plenty of "handouts" people will look at), the differences are definitely to be noted.
KACRAO Members,
On behalf of KACRAO, I am reaching out for many reasons.
Know someone super awesome at what they do and want to recognize them? It’s that time of year to recognize your colleagues for service to their students, institutions and KACRAO!
Nominations for the 2020 Awards & Accolades are now open!
Hangman featuring four D1 colleges in Kansas!
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Welcome to March!
Below is a list of contacts for your Executive Council, Coordinators and Committee Chairs. You will find both their personal organization email as well as the KACRAO contact email for the position they hold.
Hello All! I hope 2020 has been treating everyone well!
