From: Denise Harlow
Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 10:53 AM
To: ExecutiveDirectors; ballen@acapinc.org; Sondra Browne; Tina LaRocca-Marcellus
Cc: Lisa Allison; Kristine Speth; Tom Coffinger; Liz M. Hughes; Patty Barnes; Annette Marchese; Barbara Goldstein; Beatrice Murray; Cindy Denick; Conloy Finn; Craig Howard; Debra Relyea; Dolores Franco; Emmett Ferris; Frances Hanna; James Kovarik; Katharine Hand; Kathy Wright-Austin (kwright-austin@dos.state.ny.us); Linda Snead (lsnead@dos.state.ny.us); Lisa Nieves ; Martha (Nancy) Pfohl; Nancy Flowers; P Wright; Patricia Purcell; Robert Grace; Suzanne Lehtonen; Tim Luse; William Breidinger; William Harlow
Subject: NYSCAA News and Updates 3-29-08

Good Morning, Folks-

 

NYSCAA News and Updates

 

Upcoming Events

 

Congratulations!  Roberta Keller has been named to the national board of CACDE (which is changing its name Community Investment Futures).  Congratulations, Roberta, and we look forward to having you keep New York on the cutting edge of economic development opportunities.

 

Congratulations!  Gordon Hazel was named Irishman of the Year by the Plattsburgh/North Country Chamber of Commerce this past St. Patrick’s Day; an annual honor that goes to someone in the community who has given of themselves to help others in the community.  Gordon is the 50th such recipient for this award.  Congratulations!

 

Executive Search.  Community Action Partnership of Madison County has formally opened their search process for a new Executive Director.  The announcement can be found at http://72.249.73.217/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=48

 

New Name.  You may have missed the name change for one of our Western New York CAAs so congratulations to Ed Fancher and his team on the newly named Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.  The website address has also been changed to www.caoginc.org with email addresses changing accordingly.

 

New Headquarters for MVCAA.  Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency is in the process of moving their main offices.  Their address will be: 9882 River Rd, Marcy, NY 13403.

 

NYSCAA Annual Awards.   Please consider nominating a worthy colleague, volunteer, board member, or customer for one of the network’s annual awards.  Annual Award Nomination packets were mailed earlier this week.  To access the forms online, go to http://www.nyscaaonline.org/CnfContent/2008/June_2008/NomForm.pdf.  All nominations are due by May 1st. Awards will be given at the NYSCAA/NYSWDA Annual Awards Dinner on June 12th in Lake George, NY.  Winners will receive a free dinner ticket for themselves and a guest.

 

Scholarship Winners.  Congratulations to Diane Cooper-Currier of Oswego County Opportunities and Wendy O’Conner of Chautauqua Opportunities. Both received a scholarship to cover the registration fees for the upcoming CACDE (Community Investment Futures) Conference in Chicago, April 8-10.

 

NYSCAA Membership Renewals.  NYSCAA Membership renewals should have arrived at your agency this past week and we hope that you will respond with your renewed membership.  We believe we are making progress as an Association and to keep the momentum moving, we need your support.  In addition to NYSCAA services, you membership dues also give your CAA membership in CAPLAW, allowing you to access their member-only services.

 

NYSCAA Board Meeting.  The NYSCAA Board is meeting on Monday, April 7th at the Schenectady Community Action Program at 913 Albany St. in Schenectady.

 

NYSCAA Membership Development Committee.  The Membership Development Committee will be meeting by conference call on Tuesday, April 1st at 10:00.  Please call 1-866-680-1500 and enter code 3162050# at the prompt.

 

NYSCAA Training Opportunities

 

ROMA-Results-Oriented Management and Accountability.  ROMA training will be offered regionally this spring and there are a few slots still open at both locations.  There will be a session at the Middletown Public Library in Middletown, NY on Friday, April 18th and in Salamanca at Cattaraugus Community Action on Thursday, May 1st.  Thank you to RECAP and Cattaraugus Community Action for your assistance in setting up these sessions.  Registration is FREE but pre-registration is required.  To register, go to http://www.nyscaaonline.org/Events.aspx

 

Mini-Tech “Drip” Trainings:  Free 20 minute webinars are available online in Word and Excel.  Registration can be found at http://www.nyscaaonline.org/Events.aspx

Sessions in April include:  

Ø       4/8/08  10:00AM:  MS Word - Creating a Table of Contents

Ø       4/10/08  2:00PM:  MS Word - Creating a Table of Contents

Ø       4/15/08 10:00AM: Preparing Data for Sharing with Excel

Ø       4/17/08  2:00PM:  Preparing Data for Sharing with Excel

Ø       4/22/08 10:00AM: Mail Merge with Word

Ø       4/24/08   2:00PM: Mail Merge with Word

 

David Bradley’s History of the Way on Poverty.  Plan on attending David Bradley’s one-day session on June 10th in Lake George, NY, on the History of the Way on Poverty.  The session is $100 and includes lunch and materials.  Mr. Bradley will also be the opening keynoter for the Annual Professional Development Conference, June 11-13, 2008 at the Georgian.  To register for David Bradley’s session and to learn more, go to http://www.nyscaaonline.org/Events_details.aspx?cnfNum=174

 

Other Items of Interest.

 

Economic Stimulus Payments.  The IRS is encouraging various partners and stakeholders such as charities, churches, employers and governmental organizations to assist in efforts to reach out to those Americans who may be eligible for the 2008 economic stimulus payment but who normally have no requirement to file a tax return.  For more information, go to http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=179986,00.html. Many of you are already doing this work through your VITA sites and know you are on top of it.  Great job!

 

Community Action Partnership Membership.  If you have not done so for the year, consider joining the national Community Action Partnership.  Under the direction of their new CEO, Don Mathis, the Partnership is working to strengthen their training and technical assistance products, increase national-level partnerships, and better market and promote the Community Action network nationally. For more information, go to www.communityactionpartnership.com.

 

Rooting Out Poverty.  The National Campaign to Reduce Poverty and to Promote Economic Security was announced on January 9th at the Partnership’s winter conference in New Orleans.    The report is available online, at http://www.communityactionpartnership.com/Rooting-Out-Poverty.asp .

 

Other Events of Interest

 

National Association of Planning Councils.  The National Association of Planning Councils (NAPC) is a national organization which seeks to improve the human condition through encouraging research-based community planning and action.

Planning councils bring people together to identify needs and work toward solutions, mobilizing community involvement, developing and coordinating services, advocating for informed decisions by funders and policy makers, and linking people with community resources.  Their annual conference is being held in Clear Water Beach, FL May 7-9.  For more information go to: http://www.communityplanning.org/index.htm

 

Community Action Angels Conference.  The Community Action Angels will be hosting their conference April 29-30 in Syracuse, NY at the Embassy Suites Hotel.  For more information, contact Pat Standish at Pstandish@wccainc.org.  

Low Income Forum on Energy Conference.  Mark your calendars for the annual LIFE conference that will be held May 20-21 at the Marriott in Albany.  The Walk a Mile project will be highlighted at the conference as well as a diverse array of workshop topics.

Family Development Association of New York State (FDANYS).  Mark your calendars with a save the date for FDANYS’ annual confernce scheduled for May 21-22 at the Desmond in Albany.  This is their 10th Anniversary event and will be sure to be packed with great information.  For more information, go to www.fdanys.org.

 

 

Thanks!

Denise

 

 

Denise Harlow, CEO

New York State Community Action Association, Inc.

2 Charles Blvd.

Guilderland, NY  12084

518-690-0491, ext. 24

FAX 518-690-0498

dharlow@nyscaaonline.org

 

Register now for the Community Action Finance Conference, April 2-4, 2008 at the Holiday Inn in Syracuse (Liverpool), NY.  To register, go to: http://www.nyscaaonline.org/Events_details.aspx?cnfNum=173