State Society Leaders Meet in Dallas

April 9, 2008

Last week nearly 35 AARC state society presidents and other officers came to Dallas to learn more about their jobs. The annual workshop teaches state leaders how to be more effective in running their societies.

The presidents and other state society leaders who attended the workshop March 30–31 learned about strategic planning and media coverage and received updates on several other AARC projects from executive office staff. Among the presenters were Toni Rodriguez, the current AARC president, and past president Garry Kauffman.

AARC Membership Chair Tom Lamphere covered effective membership recruitment strategies and Cheryl West and Miriam O’Day, who coordinate the AARC’s government affairs activities, gave an update. They reviewed pending state and federal regulatory issues and described the Medicare Respiratory Therapy Initiative, which has been introduced into Congress in the form of HR 3968 and S 2704.

State leaders came to the AARC offices in Irving on Monday to meet the staff. Attendees also met with legal counsel on issues that impact associations, as well as learned about the financial reporting requirements of their state societies.

This is an annual event to help the state society officers understand their obligations as managers of their associations. The goal is to educate them on appropriate association management techniques and to make them aware of the most important projects and activities of the AARC.