Going Green

Everybody is going green these days from brides-to-be, large corporations, former Vice President Al Gore to associations. An association’s environmental impact can be huge because they touch all different industries and aspects of operational management—the computers that staff use, energy use in their headquarter buildings, paper used for marketing materials, excess food at conferences, etc.

Recent posts on the ASAE electronic listserv discussed various resources for going green that we thought were important enough to share. We’ve added a few of our own too. Feel free to send us others that you’ve come across.

www.agreenfootprint.com – a group that helps organizations find a “green pathway.” Click on their Resources tab for a list of additional online resources.

Conventionplanit.com – lists resources to determine how green your meetings are.

Association Marketing Springboard – a blog posting discussing greener meetings.

BlueGreen Meetings

Tree Hugger – How to Green your Work

Keeping your Board “In the Know”

I assume that most executives send updates to their board in between their face-to-face meetings. But, you know that assumptions are never right. The truth is that not all organizations provide weekly or monthly updates to their volunteer leaders. Maybe the board’s leadership style doesn’t require frequent updates or maybe we need to remember the old adage that “communication is key.”

How often and the form that updates take certainly varies. Tell us how often you provide an update to your board and what format you use. Do you do a one-page memo or is it a longer report? Do they read it? What categories of the association’s activities do you cover?

2007 NOCA Conference

We are looking forward to attending this year’s NOCA conference in San Antonio. For organizations planning to seek NCCA accreditation in the next year, the conference is a “can’t miss” opportunity. Be sure to attend the Friday, Nov. 16th session “NCCA Commission Workshop – Best Practices for NCCA Accreditation Applications.” In addition, the conference should have plenty of opportunities to network with NOCA leadership and certification experts.

The conference brochure is available online. If you would like to meet with us during the conference please let us know by sending an email to info@seacrestcompany.com.

Comments Requested for Standards Revision

The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (developed jointly by AERA, APA, and NCME) are being revised. Submit comments on the revisions to the standards during the "Call for Comment" period open through November 5, 2007. Comments and recommendations should emphasize additions, changes or other improvements to the content and format of the 1999 Testing Standards.

More information on the standards, process and submitting comments is available online.