Our next monthly meeting is Tuesday, April 24, 2007, at The Atlantis Casino Resort (3800 S. Virginia Street, Reno)

Time: 11:30am - 1:00pm

This month's topic is Local Teaching Opportunities

Representatives from educational insitutions seeking instructors will be present to discuss their opportunities.

You won't want to miss it so be sure to RSVP today.

Cost: Full and Corporate members: No charge; ASTD Basic Members & Quarterly Members: $20.00; Non-members: $25.00

Hello to all!

Spring time changes surround us with new leaves, flowers, warmer weather (except for an occasional crazy cold wind or snow storm) and inspire thoughts of new personal directions. It seems to be a perfect time to re-evaluate our life directions and examine new potential pathways. When considering the value of new or existing opportunities, most of us ask a simple question.

What's in it for ME?

The April meeting is a golden opportunity to find out what type of teaching opportunities are available in the Reno Sparks area.

Representatives from several educational institutions & businesses will be eager and willing to explain what their instructional needs are and what they can offer to YOU!

The meeting format will include a brief introduction from each facility representative and then plenty of time to for you to learn more about the facilities of your choice.

I hope to see you at the meeting - to enjoy a delicious luncheon and explore new opportunities:

"Opportunities are never lost; someone will take the one you miss." ~Author Unknown

"Jumping at several small opportunities may get us there more quickly than waiting for one big one to come along." ~Hugh Allen

"I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one." ~Mark Twain

"Ability is of little account without opportunity." ~Napoleon

"Nothing is so often irretrievably missed as a daily opportunity." ~Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

Regards,
Donna Chase
ASTD Sierra Nevada Chapter President, 2007

Asking for help is never easy. And we are in a position, where we could certainly use some extra assistance. We have several key leadership positions open. They are in the areas of marketing, treasury and special events. If you've thought about making more of a commitment and are searching for a way to give back, this is it. Please see one of the Board members at our April luncheon or contact Liz at 853-2530 or via email at empoweru2 @sbcglobal.net Thank you so much.

The Special Events Committee needs your input. We are looking for individuals willing to work on a one-day Training Expo that will feature ASTD training specialists and training opportunities offered by our members. The goal is to inform the Reno Business Community that ASTD is a viable resource available to help them meet their training needs. Anyone interested in working on this special project please contact: Michael S. Haro, Vice President, Special Events: Ph: 775 - 815-1110 or e-mail: mikeharo@selfcoachingcenter.com.

We have had such great attendance at our first few gatherings this year. We'd like to see more participation and encourage you to invite others in the community who share your passion for ASTD or who might want to know more about all our organization has to offer. We have more powerful programs that appeal to a wide audience.

We look forward to meeting your guests at our next meeting.

If you wish to market your business at a monthly ASTD meeting, all you need to do is donate a product or service to be given away in a drawing. Please contact Barbara Ciaramella, VP of Programs, at rediva@sbcglobal.net to discuss further.

If there is one thing I have learned over the years, it is that if you genuinely enjoy what you do, the rest is a snap. I am speaking of course of teaching. I embarked on a teaching career quite by happenstance. Actually, it was more from necessity. Trying to make ends meet after being unemployed for a short time, I decided that I thought I could, in order to earn extra money, teach typing. I wrote a letter to a local business college stating that I thought I could be of assistance by teaching students how to type and prayed for a response. Several weeks later, I received the phone call that changed my life.

As I reflect on these many years of teaching, I have discovered that students all seem to wish for the same thing. That is to learn something new and have fun while learning. That very first evening of teaching typing (on electric typewriters) for four hours on a Monday night, I realized very quickly that if I was going to keep my students engaged for a full four hours, I was going to have to come up with some things to do. We really had fun. I was so inexperienced that I just thought that if I laughed a lot, had them stand up from time to time and switch typewriters with someone else, play timed-writing games and had one side of the room try to type drills faster than the other side of the room, I could make the evening go by quickly. And the evening flew by and students walked out telling me they were looking forward to the next class.

I continue to use this same philosophy whether in the college classroom or in a corporate training session, whether it is a skill-based topic or "management" discussion. Have fun. Be genuine. The rest will follow...