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NJASC Advisors Update - December 17, 2008

Here is the latest news about what is going on in your state Student Council association, and what you need to know for our upcoming events...

2009 Slate of Candidates for State Office!

On Monday December 15, the 2008 State Officers conducted the annual Interview Meeting for all potential candidates for 2009 State Office. Following the interviews, the slate of candidates below was approved by the 2008 State Officers:

President:	Elizabeth Kerian - Hunterdon Central Regional HS
	Alex Gallego - Parsippany Hills HS

Vice President:	Yousef Abbasi - Union HS
	Deanna Cafone - Nutley HS

Secretary:	Madison Waterfield - Somerville HS
	Julie Duncan - Parsippany HS

Treasurer:	Christian Truglio - West Morris Central HS

Executive Member:	Christopher Salemme - Westfield HS
(3 will be elected)	Kayleigh Mallon - High Point Regional HS
	Esraa Omer - Bayonne HS
	Samantha Berk - South Brunswick HS

State BOE Student Representative:	Devon McRimmon - John P. Stevens HS

Middle Level Representative:	Michael Hughes - Edison Intermediate School
	Madison Brown - Stewartsville Middle School
	Colby Thomas - Brooklawn Middle School
	Geneva Gleason - Roosevelt Intermediate School

These sixteen student leaders will conduct their campaigns and make their speeches at the 83rd annual NJASC Winter Convention, to be held at The College of New Jersey on Wednesday January 7.

The Student Council President (or their designates) from each attending member school will vote after all speeches are completed, and the 2009 State Officers will be announced and sworn in at the end of the Convention.

Please read on for more information about next month's Convention...

Registration Still Open for 2009 Convention!

The 83rd annual NJASC Winter Convention will be on Wednesday January 7, 2009 at The College of New Jersey. At this event, over 1500 student leaders and advisors will be part of the following:

Campaigning for 2009 State Office
Awards Presented - Honor School, Top Ten Projects, Middle Level and High School Student Leaders of the Year
Keynote Speaker - Josh Sundquist
2009 State Office Candidate Speeches & Election
"Day After Day" - A special performance sponsored by P.O.A.C.
Workshop Sessions (we need more - see below!)
Advisors' Workshop & Luncheon
LTC Reunion
Much, much, more!

Registration Forms remain available at www.njasc.org/forms and can be mailed to Wendy Booth Sitzler at Palmyra HS or e-mailed to her at wbsitzler@njasc.org. The cost is only $15.00 per student and advisor. We encourage all of our member schools to take part in this annual event.

Our keynote speaker will be Josh Sundquist, a 24-year-old paralympic ski racer and nationally known inspirational speaker. At age nine Josh Sundquist was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and given a fifty percent chance to live. After spending a year on chemotherapy and having his left leg was amputated, doctors declared Josh cured and he took up ski racing. He was named to the U.S. Ski Team for the 2006 Paralympics in Torino, Italy. Josh began speaking to groups about his experiences at age ten, and has shared his story as a keynote speaker at schools, Fortune 500 companies, and even at the White House. At 18, Josh became the second youngest person ever accepted as a Professional Member of the National Speakers Association. You can find out much more about Josh at www.joshsundquist.com, and we look forward to welcoming him to the Garden State on Wednesday January 7.

After the keynote, it is a tradition for students to present Workshop Sessions to share ideas with other student leaders and schools about the great programs and projects that your student councils are doing. We are still in need of more workshops - especially by and for Middle Level student leaders. If you are interested, CLICK HERE to download a Workshop Application Form and get your student leaders actively involved in sharing great ideas.

As was the case last year, there will be three workshop sessions following the keynote address so that students will be able to attend and/or present workshops and still attend the LTC Reunion. This schedule also allows more flexibility in terms of when students can eat lunch - TCNJ will again provide an all-you-can-eat buffet at Eickhoff Dining Hall. However, this year we will be shortening the workshop sessions slightly to end the convention one half-hour earlier than in the past. We will reconvene at 2:10 p.m. to announce the 2009 State Officers and the convention will end once they have been sworn in, at 2:30 p.m.

Join us for LEAD 2009 in Harrisburg!

The National Association of Student Councils (NASC) will be sponsoring the 2009 LEAD Conference from March 13-15 in Harrisburg, PA. Over 500 student leaders from several states will get together to hear nationally recognized speakers, share great ideas, and "Energize Their Leadership". Featured speakers will include Paul Bernabei, Willow Sweeney (Top 20 Training), Bob Tryanski, and Byron Garrett.

We will be putting together a delegation to attend this regional conference. The cost, including registration, hotel (students 3-4 to a room, advisors 2 to a room), meals, and driving expenses will be $300.00 per student or advisor ($400.00 for non-NASC member schools). We are requiring that any student - except for 2008 and 2009 State Officers - that attends the LEAD Conference must be accompanied by their advisor.

If you are interested joining our delegation to LEAD 2009, please contact Lou at lmiller@njasc.org as soon as possible! You can also find out more about the NASC and LEAD Conferences at www.nasc.us, the NASC website.

Some quick reminders...

If your e-mail address has changed, or if you know of fellow advisors who are not receiving these updates, please contact Executive Director Lou Miller at lmiller@njasc.org. We have recently updated our e-mail distribution list, so if there are any problems, we would like to resolve them as soon as possible. Thanks!

Finally, as always we would like to thank you for your support of the NJASC and student leaders throughout New Jersey! We wish all of you a great holiday break, and look forward to seeing you on Wednesday January 7 at The College of New Jersey...