Time To Schedule Plans For Salt Lake City!!
Connie Bullis, WSCA President-Elect
As your plans for the new year begin, please put the WSCA convention at the top of your planning list!! Executive council and committees will meet on Friday, February 14. Workshops begin Saturday morning, February 15. The convention continues through Tuesday morning, February 18. When you make your hotel reservations and as you arrive in Salt Lake City, please remember that the conference is in the Marriott Hotel Downtown, located on West Temple. (We are NOT in the Marriott Hotel City Center located only a few blocks away.)
The convention this year is both typical and unique. The convention includes the usual outstanding and inspiring scholarship, collegiality, and fun! The convention also includes a special emphasis on sustainability. Please plan to attend the pre-conference "Communicating for Sustainability Across Dimensions of Life" on Saturday for the first theme session of the conference. Saturday's workshops also include an array of outstanding choices for those interested in teaching communication courses such as couple communication, public speaking, intercultural communication, or mass communication. A special session will be presented by Salt Lake City Community College to spotlight how a state-of-the-art media center can be created and managed. This session will include a tour. Another special session is planned for early graduate students and for undergraduates who are interested in graduate school. Sara Hayden, WSCA Second Vice President and NCA leaders Judy Pearson, James Gaudino, and Sherry Morreale have created a rich session focusing on planning for graduate school. A graduate school open house will follow this session where prospective graduate students may visit with graduate programs.
I encourage newcomers to attend the newcomers' reception Friday afternoon where you can get to know WSCA's officers and meet new colleagues. Following the reception is a Kick-Off presentation including a welcome to Salt Lake City. The no-host reception will follow.
On Sunday through Tuesday, your interest group planners have scheduled some fascinating opportunities for you, including panels of outstanding scholarly quality and important thematic topics. These panels make up the heart of the conference and afford the opportunity to hear the latest scholarship in our subdisciplines. I can't thank the planners enough and encourage you to join me in thanking them for their hard work and commitment in creating this conference. Interest group planners are: Gary Ruud, Lisa Barry, Renee Houston, Kristen Berkos, Susan Messman, Bob Stockton, Tasha Van Horn, Tasha Souza, Paul Siegel, Lisa Flores, Eileen Ringnalda, Matt Taylor, Kathryn Sorrels, and Juliann Scholl.
I especially encourage you to take advantage of Lois Gibbs' keynote speech on Sunday morning. Lois Gibbs was a young housewife who became involved in sustainability when she learned that her children were attending school on a hazardous site at Love Canal. Since then, for the past decades, she has worked with many grass roots groups who face similar problems. She will share those experiences with us Sunday, February 16. The Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah is cosponsoring her visit.
Sunday night, enjoy your colleagues company at the sock hop where we can all let our hair down after our hard work!
Monday, in addition to the many stellar panels, please plan to attend the reception and convention luncheon where we gather as a group to celebrate WSCA. Right before the luncheon NCA President Judy Pearson will hold a conversation with local leaders Irene Fisher and Marshall Welch on Engaged Scholarship. The model teaching program award panels will follow the luncheon as will the NCA workshop on survival skills for doctoral students. I invite you to attend a special panel on discourses of global warming Monday afternoon.
"This is the place!" Salt Lake City, Utah
Katherine Adams, WSCA President
When the Mormon settlers pushed through the mountains and gazed upon the Salt Lake valley for the first time their elders are said to have exclaimed, "This is the place." As we turn the corner on 2002 and look forward to 2003, Salt Lake City is our destination for the 74th annual WSCA conference. Our local host Dennis Alexander is excited to show off a campus and city changed forever by the recent Winter Olympics. Connie Bullis, our President-Elect, has worked hard with her program planners to put together a program that will be engaging and fun.
By now you should have received your registration packets. I encourage you to pre-register to save money and time when you arrive in Salt Lake City. Time saved pre-registering could be spent on the ski slopes! I also want to remind members that staying in the convention hotel helps meet our commitment to the hotel. Lack of commitment will be costly for our organization. Also, please note, your packet reminds you that there is more than one Marriott hotel in Salt Lake City. Pay careful attention to contact the Salt Lake City Marriott-Downtown.
In addition to the program panels WSCA conferences are also known for their kick-offs, newcomer receptions, guest speakers, and the infamous Sock Hop on Sunday night. I invite you to attend these events. Connie Bullis has arranged a special kick-off and her keynote guest speaker, Ms. Lois Gibbs, will talk about her continuing efforts to help grassroots organizations fight chemical exposure. Our luncheon on Monday is a time we all can get together with students and congratulate winners of the Distinguished Service Award, the K-12 Award, and individual journal award winners. Bring your dancing shoes and a bit of the 70s nostalgia for the Sock Hop.
I want to take this time to thank all WSCA members for making this the best regional association there is. Your participation both officially and informally keep this association growing and meeting the demands of the future. I encourage those of you who have not served officially to do so—I believe you will find the experience rewarding.
See you in Salt Lake City!
Salt Lake City 2003
Dennis Alexander, Local Host Coordinator
As the Chair of the local host effort I encourage you to attend the 2003 convention and enjoy Salt Lake City. With a spruced-up downtown and state-of-the-art ski areas, we have plenty to offer all visitors. And if it has been awhile since you visited Salt Lake, we have changes in store for you. Go directly to the Local Host website for everything you need to know about Salt Lake City.
The Local Host Information linked on the WSCA website can help you plan eating and drinking excursions before you get here. Symphony Hall is just across the street; the ballet and opera are two blocks away. The downtown art galleries encourage you to come and browse, and leave with prized art from local and international artists.
Connie Bullis has planned an exciting and innovative program. Your local hosts have planned only-in-Salt-Lake activities. Come participate in the best of the best in regional conventions—WSCA.
