National Update September 2005
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National Update
Monthly Newsletter of the World Affairs Council System
September 2005
In this issue...
National Conference Registration
Featured Program: Dallas Protocol
Hurricanes Affect New New Orleans Council
Did you know...that the superb Philadelphia Travel Program has just been designated a National Flagship Program for the council system!
NEGROPONTE AT CHAIRMAN'S DINNER
Amb. Negroponte will receive WACA's Lifetime Public Service Achievement Award and be keynote speaker at the January 18 Chairman's Dinner at the national conference.
He is the new Director of National Intelligence. He has been Ambassador to Iraq, the UN, Mexico, the Philippines, and Honduras as well as Deputy National Security Advisor and Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment, and State.
He is a former career diplomat who served in Asia, Europe and Latin America during his distinguished career. He was also Vice-President of McGraw-Hill.
The previous recipient of the award was Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE: REGISTRATION AND PROGRAM
Registration is now ongoing by web and brochure for the January 18-21 conference "The World's Rising Powers" at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington.
We are working hard to bring you the most prominent experts on China, India, Brazil, Russia, and more.
Twenty ambassadorial luncheons are planned and we are expecting to put on five embassy receptions.
Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, is confirmed on "America's Opportunity to Shape World History."
Kenneth Deffeyes of Princeton, the world's leading authority on oil supplies, will speak on the ending the oil era and what lies beyond.
Speaker names will go onto the national website as they are confirmed.
The conference is the meeting point of the council movement every year. Please join us for fun, great food, top-notch speakers, improving your council, and making new friends from across the country.
Register on-line and see the current agenda.
Don't forget to reserve your room at the Omni Shoreham Hotel using the code "WACA 2006" to get the $149 single or double rate.
The new national website is more visually stimulating, with four times more council system information and a wonderful array of pictures.
It is easier to navigate than the old site and includes detailed pages on every Flagship Program as well as a calendar for you to see what is happening around the council system.
Next week we will add a password-protected section for council staff and board members.
It will include the Recommended Speakers book, Foreign Policy 500, our operations papers, WorldQuest questions, our National Staffing Directory, and other in-house documents.
Check out the new site. Your feedback is welcome.
Many thanks to Cori Bassett and Stratecomm programmers for tough job well done!
The fourth national Academic WorldQuest will be March 30 - April 2 in Washington.
Twenty two (22) councils have pledged already. Our goal for this year's competition is 60.
Flyers were emailed and mailed to all councils in mid-September. To pledge a team, please contact us by December 2.
The weekend will include dinner and a mixer on Friday night, a discussion with a famous Washingtonian on Saturday, tours of the Mall museums and monuments, as well as the national competition.
The national AWQ announcement went out on September 2. The email on preparing teams for the 10 rounds goes out next week.
For more information please see Academic WorldQuest.
The Dallas Council is now in its third year of running the international protocol operations for the City of Dallas.
The program includes hosting international dignitaries brought by local organizations or the city, arranging meetings with the Mayor and overseeing Sister Cities.
After the first very successful year, the contract was renewed for three years totaling $660,000. The contract covers 2/3rds of the program costs annually. The council raises the other third.
The Chief of Protocol is Beth Huddleston. She, Director Casey Ballard, and Coordinator Kelsey Condra have offices in City Hall and in the Dallas Council office.
The protocol program has greatly enhanced council visibility, created opportunities for individual and corporate members to meet high-level visitors, allowed the council to partner with local organizations, and given great access to the Mayor and the City Council.
For more information, contact Dallas Protocol Director Casey Ballard at (214) 671-9291. See their website.
Congratulations to President Jim Falk and council staff on this unique and highly successful program!
KATRINA AND RITA AFFECT COUNCILS
Our New Orleans council has suspended operations until further notice. Executive Director Dottie Nelson and family are safe in Baton Rouge right now.
Our Dallas council worked hard to help Hurricane Rita evacuations through their Dallas Protocol program. The Houston council closed briefly for Rita and is back in full swing.
The very popular WACA Program Director Ljiljana Komnenic leaves on October 14 for a major new position with the Corporate Executive Board in Washington. She is a trainer by profession and this a chance to handle training for over 100 Fortune 500 companies.
She will be sorely missed as her accomplishments have been enormous - from administering the biggest grant in WACA's history, to running the first-ever National Teachers Workshop on the EU, to playing a major role in the national conferences, to putting out eight major WACA publications, to visiting councils actively, and much more.
Congratulations are due, not only for a job wonderfully well done, but for Ljiljana's recent engagement and expected wedding next summer.
Ljiljana, you will be deeply missed by the whole WACA family. We wish you well on both your new paths.
* National Secretary Mimi Chapin Gregory has been chosen as for the Outstanding Citizen's Award in Florida for Social Studies. The award will be given in October by the Florida Council on Social Studies.
* WACA has announced its search for the distinguished journalist award that will be given at our national conference in January. Previous winners were Fareed Zakaria, Jim Lehrer, Christiana Amanpour, and Tom Friedman. Please check out our awards page.
* Trupti Patel has joined the national staff as Special Projects Director. She is from Louisiana and has three degrees in History and Government, Computer Sciences, and Political Management (MA).
"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book."
- Ronald Reagan -
Summer Teacher Workshop on Persia