2004 National Program Committee
The 2004 MLA Annual Meeting will be held in Washington, DC from May 22-May 26 at the Washington Hilton and Towers.
The 2004 National Program Committee met for the first time on May 18 during the MLA Annual Meeting in Dallas. After introductions, the majority of the morning meeting was spent deciding on a theme. The theme for MLA 2004 will be "Seize the Power." The Committee felt this was a good theme for a Washington, DC meeting, and with plenty of opportunities for sections and program events to tie into the theme. President-elect, Pat Thibodeau will be tying the theme into her presidential priorities. During the afternoon, the group discussed the different roles and responsibilities of the NPC and then brainstormed about possible speakers.
In late October, the Chair, Associate Chair, Local Arrangements Co-chairs, representatives of Hall-Erickson met at the Hilton to review the site and discuss the timetable for the next few months. After an extensive tour of the facility, the group noted that there was plenty of meeting space but that the vendor area was somewhat limited. Social events were discussed and the wealth of opportunities in Washington, DC for venues for special events was noted.
Since the initial 2004 NPC meeting, other items for discussion and action have included:
Identification and selection of speakers for the meeting. Gary Freiburger, associate chair has taken a leadership role in this initiative. He has identified several excellent speakers. Much discussion has centered on the Wednesday morning program slot and the programming that should take place. The current plan is to have a dynamic keynote speaker to kick off Wednesday morning and either move into partnered, focused section programming or NPC sponsored papers or panels. Both concepts would build on the expertise and subject area of the speaker. In order to clarify our thoughts, the NPC will be having a phone conference on March 25.
Logo design. Our logo has a very retro, WPA look and feel to it. We are very pleased with the design and feel it represents the theme "Seize the Power."
Poster sessions. Cathy Burroughs, Daniel Dollar, and Jo-Ann Babish will coordinate the poster sessions. As part of their task, they will recommend evaluative criteria for assessment of poster submissions. NPC '04 will require structured abstracts for submission of posters.
LAC activities. The Local Arrangements Committee held a general meeting on February 10. There seems to be a large amount of enthusiasm, energy, and creativity. The Publicity Subcommittee is in high gear working on acquiring items to raffle off, and the welcome to Washington. The LAC has also submitted a list of giveaways to MLA Headquarters for pricing.
Outreach to middle or high schools in the hotel area. Washington, DC is a city of neighborhoods, and MLA should be able to do career outreach to schools in the area or host students at the meeting. We have not been able to do any real work with this but still plan to explore possibilities.
Broadcast of programming. We are still hopeful that some part of our program will be broadcast to non-attending members.
Call for participation. The call for participation has been written.
Over the next year, the 2004 NPC looks forward to:
Developing our program grid for the '04 meeting to be submitted to the MLA Board of Directors.
Meeting in San Diego to finalize our schedule and refine the program.
Observing the meeting in San Diego and making initial contacts with exhibitors and potential supporters.
Welcoming MLA members to Washington, DC
Promoting the program and Washington, DC in the MLA News and on the MLA web site.
Completing our selection of speakers.
Contacting past and potential exhibitors, supporters and contributors regarding support for "Seize the Power" programming and special projects.
Exploring ideas for innovative programming.
MOTION
This report is informational and requires no action by the Board of Directors.
Committee Members:
Jo-Ann Babish
Catherine Burroughs
Daniel Dollar
Kathel Dunn, CEC Liaison
Jonathan Eldredge
Patricia Hamilton
Janice Kelly, LAC Co-Chair
Anne Linton, LAC Co-Chair
Carolyn Anne Reid, Section Council Liaison
Ruth Riley
Gabriel Rios
Elizabeth Smigielski
Patricia Thibodeau, 2004 President, Board Liaison
Ray Naegele, Staff Liaison
Gary Freiburger, Associate Chair
M.J. Tooey, Chair