Hi Dee Hi to all our Blue Ridge Institute Members!

A big Hello to all of you!  I hope you are well, and that your thoughts are turning to next July 24-29 when the 2011 Blue Ridge Institute will re-convene at beautiful Fall Creek Falls, Tennessee.

I am honored to serve as your President for 2010-2011 and look forward to a great week together and another exciting, informative Program.  The Program Planning Committee is chaired by Dr. LuAnne Panacek, President & CEO of the Children's Board in Tampa, FL and she has assembled a robust committee representing our various states to bring you a relevant, inspiring and practical week of advanced learning.  The overall topic is:  Understanding Poverty from our client/community's perspective and working to truly overcome the chains of poverty and raise living standards for all.....or something like that!  The Committee hopes to have the Outline in place by our December Board Meeting so we can begin our marketing efforts and sponsorship opportunities in the New Year!

We had a great week at Fall Creek Falls last July -the weather was luscious, the program was extra-ordinary as usual, we had @ 29 new Blue Ridgers, a thousand well-behaved children, and the usual suspects!  I believe that the Network News was of particularly high quality, biting and funnier than all get out --- we have 2 new Reporters whom Sara Faircloth has subjected to "Journalism Boot Camp, BRI-style" since August - both have lost 25 pounds each and can speak/write, not only in tongues, but 2 other foreign languages as well.

Right now we need everyone's help to make sure we have an overwhelming turn-out in July 2011!  Please contact your colleagues and friends who would enjoy the BRI experience and encourage them to become members - (Ha!  I am listening to my national public radio annual campaign for listener-supported radio and just wrote that line!) 

However, if you think about it, BRI is very similar to National Public Radio... BRI relies on the member/volunteers to run operations and on our members to support the Summer Educational/Professional Development Program by attending each July.  We also rely on your generous donations to the BRI Foundation and/or your program support as a Sponsor.  And, most importantly,  BRI delivers a superior learning experience as does National Public Radio.

So, again, please take the time to recruit at least one new BRI member and share the experience!  Wanda Bertram, Membership Chair & I are extending the Recruitment Period until November 19, 2010, so get busy recruiting!  We will be holding the December Board meeting on December 2-3 in Atlanta and hope to beat last year's record numbers for new recruits!  Here is the list of the State Chairs who will assist you in the recruitment process with info on how to recruit.  The BRI interest letter and FAQ can be found here.  The nomination form can be found here.

Arkansas - Charles Deville, cdevillejr@fsainc.org

Florida - Sue Buchholtz,  sbuchholtz@parc-fl.org

Georgia - Sara Faircloth,  sara.faircloth@gcsu.edu

Kentucky - Steve Bogus, sbogus@insightbb.com

North Carolina - Lynn Blanchard, blanchard@unc.edu

South Carolina - Cindy Alewine, cindy.alewine@alz.org

Tennessee - Mike Warr, mwarr@porterleath.org

Virginia - Patrick Jinks, Patrick.jinks@unitedway.org

National - Tish Young McCutchen, Tish.McCutchen@uwa.unitedway.org

Other Southern, incl. Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma, West Virginia -

Steve Perkins, stephenperkins@me.com

If you have any questions, please contact Wanda at: wbertram@lexlinc.org  ....  or me at this e-mail address:  mjmtpa@verizon.net or call me at : 813-541-4971. 

We would love to hear from you.

Hi Dee Bye!   

Mary Jo Monahan, BRI President, 2010-2011

and Wanda Bertram, Membership Chair 2010-2011