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President's Message
by Sheryl Hall
I am truly honored to serve the MAHPERD membership as your President. Little did I know that when I volunteered for a position on the board 5 years ago it would lead me to my current role. Along the way I have had the opportunity to meet, work with, and be mentored by outstanding professionals in our field. I believe that it is these experiences that have helped prepare me for my upcoming term as President.
As I look to the upcoming year I have 4 goals:
- Continue to provide quality professional development,
- Increase MAHPERD membership,
- Create a members only section on the MAHPERD website,
- Create a strategic plan for the organization that will help guide organizational decision making for the next 3 years.
In September I, and several other colleagues, will represent MAHPERD “on the hill” to advocate for Bill S.216 – An Act to Improve Quality Physical Education. For more information on this bill follow this link: http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00216.
The theme for our 82nd MAHPERD Convention is “Move to Improve”. I chose this theme because I feel that movement is critical to reaching our goals. However, I am not just referring to physical movement. As educators we all understand the relationship of movement to overall health. I would also ask you to consider “moving” in your approach to teaching in the allied fields. By that I mean stay current, be willing to try new things, advocate for your program, and don’t be afraid to change.
I hope that you will join me and other MAHPERD members at this year’s convention as we have phenomenal featured speakers. They include Shellie Phofl, the Executive Director for the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Pat Griffin, Project Director for Changing the Game.
In addition, we have several guest speakers: Tim Davis, Associate Professor at SUNY Cortland and the national chair of the Adapted Physical Education National Standards (APENS) Program; Chris Belmont, NASPE High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year; Teresa Osborn, former MAHPERD board member and author of “A Social Dance Unit for Elementary Schools’ and ‘A Social Dance Syllabus for the Middle & High Schools”; John Hichwa, national presenter for physical education with 35 years of middle school teaching experience; Stephen Virgilio, professor at Adelphi University specializing in childhood obesity and physical activity intervention; and Ann Griffin, former Iowa Adapted Physical Education Teacher of the Year.
I believe that as professionals we should all be members of MAHPERD. Membership should not be based on whether or not you can attend the convention. Membership says “I support my profession and my state organization.” If you don’t support your profession who will? If you need more reasons to be a member, check out the MAHPERD website. It is my hope to give you one more reason to join, and that is a member’s only section on the website; a section where you can learn about job openings, learn about upcoming events in your area, share best practices with fellow professionals and even share/trade equipment. As such, I am looking for volunteers to help with the members’ only section of the website. Contact me for more information.
As a non-profit organization for professionals and students we are dedicated to promoting healthy active lifestyles, advocating for quality programs, providing quality professional development opportunities, promoting leadership in each of the disciplines, recognizing outstanding professionals and quality programs, and supporting research initiatives and disseminating research findings. A strategic plan will help guide our organizational decisions to keep us in line with our mission.
As you can see, this looks to be a busy year! I am excited about the upcoming year and will work hard to accomplish my goals on behalf of this amazing organization. In closing, I would like to invite you to get involved: as a board member, to help with the new members’ only section of the website, or to volunteer to help at the National Convention in Boston next March.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your President. Please visit our website and feel free to contact me if you have any ideas or want to get involved with MAHPERD. Hope to see you in November!
Sincerely,
Sheryl Hall
MAHPERD President
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