As I mentioned in my previous report, one of the responsibilities of the NCFR Board is to communicate with NCFR members. Our communication with you is important because not only does this contact allow you to voice your views to us about the profession and the roles that NCFR can fill to help you during your work with families, this invaluable communication also enables the Board to understand better the work of our members. I recently learned the importance of communicating with our newer and often younger members when I had the pleasure in May to travel to Portland, Oregon, to the Northwest Council on Family Relations (NWCFR) meeting. In my almost 40 years as a member of NCFR, this was the first time I attended an affiliate meeting specifically planned for the primary benefit of graduate and undergraduate students in that region. For many of the attendees, this was the first time they had ever attended a professional conference.

I got to talk with the students about the multiple professional and personal benefits one can gain from attending such meetings. We discussed the concept of networking and how that happens at a professional meeting. Further, I got to share with the students several suggestions on how to improve their skills in networking that I hope they can transfer and use not only for future meetings they attend, but for receptions, professional talks, social events, community events, or work meetings where they are required to interact with other professionals.

We practiced several networking strategies and I shared information with them about the multiple sessions at the NCFR Annual Conference where they could use these newly developing skills. I tried to prepare the students for the kinds of sessions offered at professional meetings, what they could expect from these activities, and how best to navigate and take advantage of the sessions to enhance their own professional development. I also shared with the students that I could have used these skills when I first started attending professional events as a student and new professional. The students informed me that the information was quite useful to them and had begun to ease their anxiety about navigating the affiliate meeting they were attending with about 100 attendees. I am hopeful that our time together started to prepare them for how to manage a much bigger meeting similar to NCFR’s annual conference with over 1,100 attendees.

A further benefit for the students who attended this meeting was their participation in a speed-mentoring professional advice activity similar to the ones we conduct at our annual conference. What was particularly exciting for these students was that among the mentors from whom they received professional advice were the two main speakers for the conference—Dr. Karen Seccombe, Portland State University, and Stephanie Coontz, Evergreen State College. Both of these professionals are international authors who write about some of the most cutting-edge issues molding and impacting families. To be able to receive professional advice from such NCFR luminaries was truly memorable and impactful for the students. Subsequent to the meeting, I have received numerous e-mails from students thanking me for my time with them and also citing their intent to attend our annual meeting.

I share the above information to communicate with you some of the benefits of encouraging your students to attend the affiliate meetings or other similar professional settings. Also, as I hope you can tell, I benefited too from my interactions with the students and believe that you would as well. This was an important reminder to me of the importance of bringing professional opportunities to our students. I look forward to reconnecting with a number of my new acquaintances at the 2012 NCFR Annual Conference in Phoenix.

Additionally, in early June, the NCFR Board met in Minneapolis for three days to discuss the other areas about which we have been communicating with many of you in the past three months—namely policy work, international partnering, and section engagement. We have benefited greatly from hearing about your experiences and thoughts and have compiled your suggestions. The Board is working closely with the staff who will be implementing some of your ideas for increased membership engagement beginning as early as our upcoming annual meeting. For example, you will see several new activities for those with international interests as well as for our international attendees. At the annual conference, Board members will talk further regarding the priority of some of your suggestions during the section meetings.

Leigh Leslie, Program Chair, along with the conference committee members, has planned an enlightening program on health and families. We had a record number of submissions and we hope to have a record number of attendees. On behalf of the Board, we all look forward to seeing you in the fall in Phoenix.