News
From the President
by Robin E. Wosje

Robin Wosje

I have the great pleasure in this column to share with you a sneak peak at the upcoming conference. The dates of the conference this year are August 10-13, 2008. It will be held at the Double Tree Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rooms are $159 plus tax per night.

The conference registration information is available elsewhere on this website. Soon we will be sending out full information about the conference, but I wanted to spend this column covering some of the highlights. As in past years, the first day, Sunday, will be our new member track Fundamentals of Our Profession. Although the entire agenda is really quite exciting, there are a few things, in particular, that I wanted to highlight.

The first is a very exciting keynote speaker who we having coming. She is Judy Shepard.  She is the Executive Director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation. As I am sure you will recall, Matthew Shepard was a gay man and a student at the University of Wyoming who was fatally attacked near Laramie, Wyoming on the night of October 6, 1998. Shepard died from severe head injuries a few days later. His murder brought national attention to the issue of hate crime legislation at both the state and federal levels. Judy Shepard travels across the nation speaking to audiences about what they can do as individuals and communities to make this world a more accepting place for everyone, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender identity and expression, or sexual orientation. Speaking from a mother’s perspective, Judy focuses her efforts on the prevention of hate crimes and respect for everyone.

The evening following Ms. Shepard’s keynote speech, we will also be showing the movie The Laramie Project. The film follows, and in some cases re-enacts, the chronology of Shepherd's visit to a local bar, his kidnap and beating, the discovery of him tied to a fence, the vigil at the hospital, his death and funeral, and the trial of his killers. It mixes real news reports with actors portraying friends, family, cops, killers, and other Laramie residents in their own words. It concludes with a Laramie staging of "Angels in America" a year after Shepard's death.

Another great part of the conference is our dinner event, which will be held at the National Constitution Center. The Center is the first-ever museum dedicated to the U.S. Constitution and is the perfect place to hold our dinner. The Center contains 75,785 square feet of exhibit space that includes: The Story of We the People – the permanent exhibit in DeVos Hall and The Freedom Exhibit Gallery, which opened in June 2005, featuring changing exhibits including the Center’s own Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War; the Ben Franklin 300th anniversary exhibit, Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World; Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers from the Smithsonian Institution; 9/11: A Nation Remembers; Eyewitness: American Originals from the National Archives; and First Ladies: Political Role and Public Image.

Lastly, on Saturday and Sunday the Phillies will be playing the Pirates at the Citizens Bank Park. Information about getting tickets and attending those games will be a part of the registration packet and is part of the website packet of information about the conference.

I cannot thank the NASJE Education Committee enough for putting together such a great agenda for this year! I hope you all can attend.

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