SEAHO Report - Winter 2018 - 32

SEAHO Features

to be able to watch the Host Committee do their thing! An incredible amount of work goes into planning a
conference, working out logistics, maintaining and managing a budget of tens of thousands of dollars, etc. etc.
etc., and the Host Committee did it all while smiling and having a great time. Hats off to them!
Two of the three days I started my morning at the Buffet and
ate an incredible breakfast (you know you've found a great
buffet when there's bread pudding at breakfast!). As part
of registration, we will be getting at least one meal per day
(usually lunch) at the conference, but I highly recommend
the Buffet at the Beau Rivage if you end up staying there.
Sometimes I worked on things for my actual job (lockout
billing, what's good?), but other times I reviewed my state
report, my state's constitution, or the agenda for the next
portion of the Governing Council meetings. Pokemon Go
players will be happy to know there are tons of electric-type
pokemon at the Beau Rivage (which is also right on the beach, SO much work to keep this organization running!
so there's healthy sprinkling of Magikarp as well), and I saw
several Geodude around town. There's a gym at the Beau
Rivage fountain and at least two in the part of the Convention Center we'll be in (team Mystic and Instinct,
don't even bother. Valor is going to OWN those gyms!). One day we all ate breakfast together and then took
a tour of the rooms we have reserved in the Convention Center. They made some great selections and we are
going to have a ton of options for types and size of space at the conference in March!
While the Host Committee was running around meeting with vendors and convention center staff, the
Governing Council, made up of the Executive Board, State Representatives, and Committee Chairs, did the
really exciting work of following Robert's Rules and keeping minutes of the meeting. My favorite part of sitting
on the Governing Council, besides the fact that our meetings were sometimes upwards of four hours and the
room we were in had reached tundra-like temperatures, was getting to see that the same senses of humor and
get-it-done attitudes pervade each corner of our region, every size and shape and type of institution. SEAHO
is in seriously capable and invested hands, if anyone was wondering. At the end of a long day, we took the
time it deserved to review the forthcoming Member Needs Survey to make sure the next Five Year Plan can
be founded in the most up-to-date information from our members (even when we
hashed and rehashed what demographic questions to ask and how to ask them for at
least 12 minutes). As a newbie, I felt like my opinions were just as valid as everyone
else's, even though I did ask a dumb question once or twice. The State Representative
delegation was equally as welcoming, and made me feel so much better about all the
anxieties I had about going to the meeting with essentially no idea what my role was
(surprise, I gave my State Report and got to vote! I'm in the minutes forever as the
person who seconded the 2018-2019 budget- check that one off my bucket list). Even if
I never get to participate in our regional organization on the Governing Council again,
I have complete faith that these dedicated professionals will make the best decisions
for our organization with the needs of the members in mind- because that's what I
I voted!
witnessed during the meeting!
I also really appreciated the updates by all the committee chairs. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
committee has some awesome plans for the conference (including an HBCU t-shirt day!), and the Program
Committee sorted through the 197 programs submissions to slate around 80 of them, including a Residential
Curriculum track and time/space for the Senior Housing Officers from both large and small schools to have their
roundtables. The other committees are doing equally important work to make sure our Educational Programs
SEAHO Report Winter 2018

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