The 2014 Emerging Recreational Sports Leaders Conference is heading to Orlando

By Jackie McCarty, Memberships Coordinator at University of California, Davis

The 23rd annual Emerging Recreational Sports Leaders Conference is headed to the beautiful city of Orlando, February 20-22.

The University of Central Florida will serve as the host institution of this storied event.

Since 1992, the Emerging Recreational Sports Leaders Conference has sought to provide students interested in careers in collegiate recreation with the tools and connections they need to succeed in the dynamic field they have chosen to pursue.

Don’t miss the 2014 Emerging Recreational Sports Leaders Conference.

The conference offers a plethora of opportunities to develop well-rounded professionals. These include resume and interview preparation, career networking and mentorship, social interaction with NIRSA officers and dignitaries, volunteer opportunities, and much more! Preconference activities are scheduled before the opening general session and facility/institutional tours will be provided to preconference attendees. Campus recreation colleagues and university dignitaries will serve as tour guides during our site visits.

Presentations

A robust offering of educational sessions will be available throughout the conference. During last year’s conference in Nashville, there were a total of twenty one presentations. Some of the highlighted topics discussed at the 2013 conference include:

“Find your fit”: A session aimed to encourage Graduate Assistants to “find their fit” within their university, within their department, and within their community.
“Do you have a presence? What makes you interesting:” A session that covered the importance of having a presence in the workplace, classroom, and in our personal lives.
“Style, Not Swag, and Leading Up:” A presentation explaining how to use different tools in order to enhance group synergy and manage conflict.
“Challenging Stereotypes”: This offering pushed us to eliminate negative stereotypes by educating ourselves and each other.
“Adapting to Adaptive Recreation”: This session focused on how to start an adaptive program from scratch within intramural sports.
“Feedback vs. FeedForward”: This presentation challenged us to provide our student staff with “feedforward” criticism in order to encourage moving on from mistakes and focusing on future tasks.

After having seen these and other engaging and inspiring presentations during the 2013 Emerging Recreational Sports Leaders Conference, we’re very excited about the presentations coming to Orlando for 2014. Don’t miss your chance to contribute! The deadline to submit presentation proposals has been extended to Friday, November 15, 2013. We challenge the NIRSA community to take advantage of this opportunity to positively contribute to the development of our profession by submitting a topic that is of passion and progress.

Herman Williams Outstanding Service Award

Recognize a collegiate recreation professional by nominating them for the Herman Williams Outstanding Service Award. Candidates for the founder’s award should demonstrate innovative leadership qualities that have improved the Emerging Recreational Sports Leaders Conference and minorities in our field. Previous recipients of this award include Chris McGee (2013), Stan Shingles (2012), Tony Daniels (2011), Lee Wasson (2010), Sev-Ira Brown (2008), Kenny Hill (2007), J. Michael Dunn (2004), and Sam Vaughan (2003). Submit all nomination materials to the conference co-chair Jackie McCarty by Sunday, December 1, 2013.

From Left to Right: Stan Shingles, Mrs. Lee Wasson, Herman Williams, and Marsha Shelton.

Many of notable leaders in collegiate recreation will be in attendance in Orlando. In attendance at the 2013 Emerging Recreational Sports Leaders Conference were both the wife and daughter of our most recognized founder: Mrs. Lee Wasson and Miss Marsha Shelton; Past Presidents: Sam Hirt (Vanderbilt), Eric Stein (Stanford), and Dr. Kevin Marbury (Oregon); President Elect: Stan Shingles (Central Michigan); past National Student Leader: Laura Thomas; NIRSA National Historian: Paul Wilson (Oklahoma); past Region VI Student Leader: Caitlin Sommers; past Region IV Student Leader: Lauren Brown; past Region III Student Leader: Joey Halpin; and past Region II Student Leader: Ryan Wingers.

Don’t miss your chance to network and learn with these fantastic leaders. Whether you are an undergraduate student, graduate student or a professional affiliate, this is your conference. The deadline for early bird registration for the 2014 Emerging Recreational Sports Leaders Conference is Sunday, December 1, 2013. The deadline for the next best registration rate is set for Sunday, February 2, 2014.

We hope to see you in Florida!