The Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Atlantic City , NJ was the site of an outstanding educational conference held from 6-9 April, 2008. Sponsored by the National Committee for ESGR and hosted by the New Jersey Committee, the agenda was full of valuable information for the more than 105 participants to absorb. Dr. L. Gordon Sumner, Executive Director, kicked off the Monday morning session at 0800 followed by short briefs from National Chair James Rebholz, Maine Chair John Simpson and capped off by Deputy Executive Director Philip Pope. The attendees then separated into their various groups for breakout sessions. The breakouts provided Chairs and Functional Directors the opportunity to share and discuss best practices which proved to be a high point of the conference.  

On Tuesday morning, the 15 individual state committees caucused to review the year to date and set goals and objectives for the remainder of the fiscal year. MA State Chair Mr. Ken Forchielli and the MA delegation responded to the challenge of meeting this year’s goals by developing a clear and concise plan of action. He later presented the MA action plan to conference attendees during the Field Committee Briefs. All in all, the conference was well received by the entire gathering and the National Committee walked away with great feedback for future conferences. Each attendee from the MA group will provide an overview of his breakout sessions at the next scheduled committee meeting.