| Greetings! It is my sincere pleasure to wish all of you a prosperous and safe New Year! As your President, I want to take this opportunity to bring to your attention, some of the recent accomplishments of your NRCA, and to announce some new directions for the organization. |
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| The 2008 NRCA Professional Development Symposium was a huge success. San Diego supplied us with good SoCal weather (hot!), and the conference site offered attendees relaxation, exploration, and rejuvenation. The central “vibe” of the symposium was one of unity, coming together, sharing, and strength. In addition to holding NRCA leadership meetings, the venue served as the site for ARCA Board meetings, and also a special Rehab Leadership collaboration meeting that included representatives from NRCA, ARCA, CRCC, VA, IARP, NCRE, and other rehab organizations. Reviews of conference surveys were overwhelmingly positive. We were excited to have a large number of students from Fresno State who helped out with monitoring duties-Thank you! Appreciation goes out to Dr. Chuck Degeneffe of San Diego State University for all of the on-site coordination. Many thanks to ALL who contributed- ESPECIALLY your NRCA Board and Staff-once again NRCA delivered a high-quality symposium. |
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| As many of you know, our 2008 NRCA President, Dr. Charley Palmer, was involved in a serious motorcycle accident this fall. With the support and prayers of family, friends, and NRCA members around the country, Charley is on a path to recovery. His recent participation in a NRCA Executive Committee conference call was incredibly uplifting for all of us. I have no doubt that he will be back to serve NRCA as soon as possible. If you’d like to send Charley a get well message, and be updated on his recovery efforts, you can register by going to http://www.caringbridge.org/. Keep up the hard work Charley-- we’ll be waiting for you! |
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| NRCA is pleased to welcome Dr. Jamie Satcher as our new Editor for JARC! Dr. Satcher has been working with Dr. Ellen Fabian during the transition of the editorship. Dr. Satcher is dedicated to continuing the history of publishing high quality, applied research in the field of rehabilitation counseling. We are happy that he chose NRCA and JARC to serve in this capacity! The NRCA Board would also like to express our sincere thanks to Dr. Ellen Fabian who leaves us as JARC Editor. During Dr. Fabian’s tenure, the journal has produced exceptional issues which serve our practitioners well. We thank you for your service, professionalism, and expertise, and wish you well in your future endeavors. |
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| 2009 brings challenges that many of us face personally and professionally. Despite hopes for meaningful change in our country’s leadership and direction, the realities of our country’s economic hardships run deep. The strain of our spiraling economy leaves no one unaffected. Funding cutbacks, layoffs, and shut-downs seem all too common these days, with many of us already being asked to make significant sacrifices in our jobs and lifestyles. These tough times do not stop with wall street or auto makers. ALL of the professional organizations serving the rehabilitation field have felt the stress of a weakening economy and the all-too-familiar battle cry of “do more with less”. Over the past few years, we have been faced with difficult decisions. With shrinking budgets for travel and training, many have been forced to reduce their professional memberships and activities. Serving on numerous other boards, I can tell you that these dynamics have impacted every professional organization, including NRCA. Your Board has been monitoring these trends for some time, and has been very active to keep NRCA lean and trim. I am very proud to represent NRCA-knowing that despite these challenging times, the organization remains strong and dedicated to its mission. It is my promise to you, that NRCA will continue to serve this mission, and will evolve as needed to remain fiscally solvent, professionally potent, and action oriented. |
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| In order to meet the challenges we face, the NRCA Board has been listening to the feedback of you, the membership, and has been carefully crafting some exciting new changes. Perhaps most notably, the tradition of hosting an annual NRCA Symposium will likely be ending. The decision to host a national symposium every two years makes better sense for several reasons: Boards from both NRCA and ARCA have considered offering national conferences in alternating years-which would reduce the pressure of “dual members” in terms of picking one or the other for their annual training needs. This arrangement would offer NRCA and ARCA members the opportunity to attend each other’s national conferences at member rates. Secondly, hotels, catering, and travel costs have soared in recent years. Moving away from an annual symposium schedule will help us remain fiscally prudent, while maintaining the high quality NRCA Symposium we have come to expect. Third, this move will allow NRCA to spend more time and resources improving other aspects of NRCA including member services, an electronic journal, CEUs, and the NRCA website. |
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| Speaking of the NRCA website, you may have noticed recently that the NRCA website is currently under construction. We have decided to transition our website to a new host, and in the process, develop some new features that we hope will better meet your evolving professional needs. We will be rolling out the new website using the same address (http://nrca-net.org/) over the next weeks/months. Features that we would like to add in the future include online membership card download, web based CEUs, member-only resources/trainings, improved communication of legislative/professional information, and links to expand advocacy and to enhance communications with our rehabilitation partners. Keep checking back-- we are excited to bring the new NRCA to you soon! |
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| These are just some of the exciting new evolutions of your National Rehabilitation Counseling Association. We are always interested in hearing your suggestions and input on how we can further meet the range of your professional needs. This is YOUR NRCA! It is through our wonderful members that the mission of the organization is met. Please let us know how we can serve you better! |
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| Respectfully, |
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| Joseph E. Keferl, Rh.D., CRC |