Lordy, lordy…we look good for 40!

Greetings to all of our Missouri colleagues from across the state!  I hope this message finds you enjoying another great year in higher education and working with wonderful students at your respective campuses.  It seems like we just welcomed students to our families…and now we are preparing for them to leave once again.  

It has been a great year for the Missouri College Personnel Association, a monumental one in so many ways.  For those of you who were able to join us at our annual conference last fall, you witnessed many milestones for our Association.  Just in case you missed it, here is a quick review:

• Our second largest conference in recent history!
• The first ever MoCPA Boat Cruise, sponsored by Chartwell’s.
•  The celebration of our 40^th Anniversary as an Association.
•  A special guest appearance by Dr. Heidi Levine, President of ACPA (College Student Educators International) and Dean of Students at Cornell College (IA).
• The introduction of ACPA’s professional competencies into our programming curriculum 
• We raised over $2,000 in our 3^rd Annual Silent Auction, another record for the Association.

Perhaps one of the most exciting and innovative programs we started this year was the creation of the Ruby Society, a foundation in honor of our 40^th Anniversary developed to support community college and graduate student initiatives throughout the Association.  Our executive board talked a lot about what we can do to make our anniversary a special one and how we can best commemorate and honor our history.  Our solution was to create the Ruby Society and invite people to become members for a minimum donation of $40.00. 

Of course, there are many other things happening that make this a great time to be a member of MoCPA.     The “Best of MoCPA” program from this year’s conference was selected to present at the ACPA Convention (March 24-28, 2012 in Louisville, KY).  We are also hosting a professional drive-in workshop in Springfield, MO focusing on disaster and crisis preparedness.  And finally, it is with great excitement that we begin planning MoCPA’s fall 2012 annual conference, held for the first time at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Lake Ozark, MO. 

As President, I feel that we are making some great things happen and providing valuable professional development opportunities for all of our higher education colleagues around the state.  I look back at the many things we have accomplished and am proud to be part of such a talented group of professionals who dedicate their careers to education and service.  I hope that you agree with me, and find yourself excited and engaged with MoCPA in 2012!


Jackie Weber
MoCPA President