Have you had a life-changing mentor in your life? We would like to use the upcoming conference for a special activity-an opportunity to honor all of our mentors.

Many, if not most, of us would acknowledge that our educational and professional journeys have been enriched or made possible because of the caring nurture of a mentor. I've had three mentors in my life; the third and current mentor has been a compassionate and indispensible part of my NCFR career.

In San Francisco, we're going to thank them publicly. Just a few minutes prior to the beginning of each plenary, we will be featuring a PowerPoint slideshow of the mentors of individual NCFR members. You are invited to send photos and brief tributes for this event. To participate, read through these rules carefully as these are the required specifications:

• To be eligible, either you or your mentor must be an NCFR member, OR one of you must be a conference attendee.

• Each participant may honor just one mentor.

• You may send in one photo of you and your mentor together in the same photograph; or you may send in a separate photo for each. The photos must be digital/electronic and of high resolution (preferably 300 dpi). Send them by email attachment: not embedded in an email.

• You may also include a short message about your mentor to be added onto the slide. In order for the message to be visible on a large auditorium screen, please limit this message to a maximum of 12 words.

• Finally, in case someone feels a bit bashful about the recognition, we'd like to receive an email directly from the mentor giving us permission to offer this tribute to him or her, except, of course, if your mentor is deceased. Send them to: nancygonzalez@ncfr.org

• I hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity to recognize your mentor. Send your submission with "honoring my mentor" in the subject line of your email. NOTE: Deadline has been extended to September 14, 2009. Please direct all submissions and questions to me, Nancy Gonzalez, at NCFR Central; nancygonzalez@ncfr.org .