Inside Education December 2000

President's Message
Kevin Wahl

Although it seems like ages ago, I would like to thank everyone who attended the Literacy 2000 Conference in Ottawa. With over 800 delegates from 18 countries, Literacy 2000 provided us with exposure to an international forum of correctional leaders, educators and stakeholders.

With 65 delegates from Alberta, ACEA was well represented. We hosted a sight-seeing tour on a double decker bus that was both informative and fun. For many of us, it was also the first time in Ottawa, and what a treat that was. Parliament Buildings, Museum of Civilization, National Gallery, the Market, Rideau Canal, and many other well-known landmarks and sights all added to the richness of the trip.

The ACEA Board also extends thanks to the support shown at the AGM and elections held in Ottawa. Congratulations to the new board and a special welcome to Jacob Varghese who is our new treasurer. I also want to extend a special thanks to all those who helped with the T-shirt sales, especially Shelly Sealy for the time she spent organizing and coordinating those sales. Thanks Shelly, your efforts and determination ensured that all the time slots for sales were filled, and that all our shirts were sold.

As a side note, if you did not attend the conference, chances are that you are no longer an ACEA member. Please contact Jacob or Sandra to renew your annual membership so that you can continue to enjoy the benefits of membership. It is also important that we maintain our membership numbers to adequately represent correctional education in Western Canada.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the Ottawa trip and the conference, I must admit that I did miss our smaller and more intimate venue in Banff. This year, Lethbridge is hosting the 15th Annual ACEA Conference. The conference dates are March 21, 22, 23, 2001 and the theme is 2001 - A Correctional Odyssey - a focus on the professional development of the instructor. Lethbridge is putting together a great slate of speakers and anticipating a fantastic conference; HAL says, "this is a conference that you will not want to miss."

I recently returned from the CEA Region VI conference in Spokane Washington. It was an excellent conference: good food, good accommodations, and good speakers. Jim and I were warmly welcomed by Region VI and had an opportunity to provide a verbal report about ACEA at one of the luncheons.

As an endnote, Kimberly Drozda is resigning her position as Newsletter Editor and I would like to take the time to personally thank her for the time and excellent effort she has put forth. I would also like to say thank you to Frank Blanchet who recently changed jobs and resigned his position as board rep for the northern region (hope you still want to provide us with your music at the conference). Our board and our association will miss the input, effort, and energy that both Kimberly and Frank brought to us - once again, thank you.

Kevin