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It was great seeing everyone who attended the 84th annual meeting of the Society of State Directors of Health, Physical Education and Recreation on March 13-15 in Indianapolis, Indiana! This year’s meeting was extra special because it was the very first Society meeting for our new Executive Director, Patricia Anderson, as well as our new HIV Education Project Director, Kyle Lafferty. Kyle will be celebrating her one year anniversary with the Society on June 17. Also on hand were former Society Executive Directors Sharon Murray and Bill Potts-Datema; unfortunately former Interim ED, Grace Stevens was unable to join us this year.
As Project Director for HIV Education, Kyle put together a very informative, one-day workshop on HIV Prevention entitled, Kickball, Cursive, and Condoms: Making a case for Sexuality Education across the Lifespan. Her speakers were Bill Potts-Datema of CDC/DASH and Konnie McCaffree with the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. Visit the Society's website to access resources from the workshop!
Jackie Sowers, Project Director for Coordinated School Health, presented a two-hour session on Making the Connection II. This popular session brought attendees up-to-date on the latest developments regarding our long awaited Making the Connection II: Health and Student Achievement. Jackie briefly shared the process, challenges, and opportunities for sharing this valuable tool with CSH and school improvement leaders nationwide who seek the strongest evidence for convincing others that health is linked to student achievement and life success.
Society members enjoyed music, hors d’oeuvres and socializing with one another as the annual meeting kicked off with the Saturday night Welcome Social. Our wonderful exhibitors introduced themselves and showed off their beautiful display tables. A very special thank you to our exhibitors and sponsors:
* The Children's Health Market, Inc. * The Dibble Institute * Fizika Group * HealthTeacher
* Great Activities Publishing Company * Human Kinetics * The SPARK Programs
On Sunday, Society President, Lynn Hammond welcomed everyone to the 84th meeting and introduced Patricia Anderson, Society Executive Director, who presented on the State of the Society and shared her thoughts for the Society’s future growth and success. We were pleased to welcome back keynote speaker, Dr. Howell Wechsler, Director of CDC/DASH who provided us with an engaging and uplifting presentation on current happenings at the Division of Adolescent and School Health as well as future initiatives. During the day, Society members were able to choose from three different breakout sessions: advocacy training, technology and social networking, and a physical education panel discussion. View presentations from the breakout sessions on our website, www.thesociety.org.
Attendees were treated to dinner and awards ceremony up on the 21st floor of the Hotel with a panoramic view of downtown Indianapolis! Everyone had a good time as we congratulated our very deserving award winners. Lynn Hammond presented Kathleen Courtney with the President’s Award in recognition of meritorious service to the Society and for her dedication and support as President-elect during the past year. Bonnie Edmondson (recipient of the 2009 Honor Award) had the pleasure of presenting the 2010 Simon A. McNeely Honor Award to Suzanne Crouch. Suzie served on the Executive Committee for the past 4 consecutive years, first as President-elect, then as President for two years and finally, as Past-president. In addition to her work with the Society, Suzie’s career as a health and physical educator as spanned 41 years!
During the last day of the meeting, everyone joined in a luncheon to honor several fellow Society members for their time and commitment to the Society and school health. We congratulate the 2009-2010 Committee Chairs and Chair-elects: Derek Irion and Julane Hill (Professional Development), Jim McCall and Darrel Lang (Finance), Barbara Donica and Pat Stewart (Communications & Marketing), Martha Harris and Kyle Guerrant (Advocacy, Policy & Legislation), and Kathy Brothen and Meagan McClellan (Membership). Lynn gave special recognition and a heartfelt thank you to two long-time Society members who are both retiring this year, Becky Smith of AAHE and Susan Wooley of ASHA. And last but not least, the Society Executive Committee granted the honor of Emeritus membership status to two long standing Society members and past presidents: Kathy Wilbur (ME) and Pam Tollefsen (WA). Congratulations to all of the honorees!
The 84th meeting came to an end with the election of two new Executive Committee members. Congratulations and welcome to Antionette Meeks (FL) as the Society's new President-elect and Meaghan McClellan as the new Secretary. In addition, it is now the task of the Executive Committee to appoint a Treasurer to serve on the Executive Committee. We congratulate Grant Scheffer, Associate member, as he begins his position as Society Treasurer. We wrapped up the meeting with our closing keynote speaker, Lori Benson, Director of the Department of Fitness and Health Education at the New York City Department of Education. This is the largest school system in America and Lori’s team supports 1.1 million students in almost 1,600 schools.
Check out some great pictures from the 2010 meeting here! 
Save the date for the Society's 85th Annual Meeting, March 27-28, 2011 in San Diego, California!
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