Posted: July 13, 2023
President’s Message
by Tony Pieper
It is hard to believe the 2023 Iowa Reading Association & Iowa Association of School Librarians Joint Literacy Conference is now over! I am sure everyone that was involved with the conference is now sitting back and breathing a sigh of relief. After our 2023 conference chair had to step down earlier this year due to health reasons, I am sure many people wondered if we could pull this conference off. However, there were many people who pulled together and worked very hard to bring our reading conference to a successful conclusion!
First I would like to thank our former Executive Director Clark Goltz for coming back and serving as interim conference chair. When he learned that we no longer had a 2023 conference chairperson, Clark offered to step in and help finish the work that had already been started. Clark brought with him many years of experience working on past conferences as executive director. His familiarity with all of the small details that must be considered when planning a conference were absolutely essential to making this year’s conference a success. I would also like to thank our current Executive Director Nancy Wright for all of her hard work behind the scenes. She was instrumental in coordinating all of the various business details of the conference. At times her responsibilities seemed overwhelming, but she managed to get everything done on time and did a wonderful job. This conference would not have happened without her! Of course, I want to thank all of the board members and committee chairs from the Iowa Reading Association who helped plan and work this event. They are a terrific group of dedicated individuals who volunteered their time to make sure our conference was a success. I would like to thank the incredible teams at the Scheman Building and DIscover Ames, the Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau, for hosting us. We were very pleased to bring our conference to Ames again this year. My thanks also go out to all of the wonderful educators and literacy experts that agreed to be keynote presenters or submitted session proposals for our concurrent sessions. Their willingness to share their expertise was vital to a successful conference. Finally I would like to thank all of the exhibitors who paid to join us this year. Our conference would not have happened without their financial support.
Now it is time to look forward to the coming year. Normally the current conference chair also serves as the president-elect of the Iowa Reading Association and steps into the role of president at the conclusion of the reading conference. Since Clark only agreed to serve as interim conference chair but did not wish to serve as president in 2023-2024, a search began this spring to find someone to lead the association after the conference ended. Nominations Chair Nancy White asked several potential individuals to consider the position but by May, she had not found a replacement. After careful consideration, I decided to throw my hat in the ring and run again for another term. A special election was held, and you the Iowa Reading Association members elected me for one more year. I look forward to working with our new President-Elect and 2024 Conference Chair Megan Benson. She has already laid the groundwork for a terrific conference next summer. It also looks like we may have a very qualified individual willing to serve as this year’s vice president and 2025 conference chair. I am hoping to make an announcement regarding the vice president position by the end of the summer, at which time we will hold a special election.
I believe after a very challenging year, the Iowa Reading Association is on its way back to greater stability for the future. Now we need to rely on you, our current members. Please consider renewing your membership for the coming year and encouraging your colleagues to also join. We desperately need all of you to help us in our mission to spread literacy across the state of Iowa!
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