Welcome to the city of Savannah, one of GACRAO’s favorite destinations, and to the 57th annual conference! Thank you all for coming! Our friends here at the Savannah Marriott Riverfront are ready to provide us with some Savannah-style hospitality that is sure to make our stay a special one. They have been a pleasure to work with, and I hope that you enjoy your stay and take advantage of all the hotel’s amenities.
Our conference theme this year is “Informed, Involved, Inspired, Are you?” Social media and technology are impacting our world like never before. Digg, Facebook, and Twitter have revolutionized communication and provide a new way of doing business with today’s generation of college students. Long gone are the days when the telephone and the U.S. Post Office were the main recruitment and communication mediums for enrollment professionals. Even e-mail is taking a backseat to the social media frenzy. We hope that you will leave this conference with an expanded perspective on the power of social media and its interface with our profession.
President-Elect, Angela Evans and her program committee have put together a robust program that features a slate of session topics that are rich in content and facilitated by polished presenters. Our award winning Enrollment Management track (GISEM) continues to provide a unique professional development opportunity for those in the profession 5 years or longer. New this year, we launch as a pilot, W.E.A.L.T.H. (Women and gender Equity and Access through Leadership and Training for careers in Higher education) a preconference workshop that is part of our Professional Access and Equity initiative. Come get all the Banner you can belly from the USG Banner Update, also a preconference session, and do not miss the riverboat cruise on the Savannah River Queen following our Association Dinner Sunday night.
We are excited to welcome Jeff Kallay as our keynote speaker. The “Apostle of Authenticity,” Jeff is Vice President of the consulting division of Target X, the leading provider of interactive marketing and technology services in higher education. He has become a nationally respected authority on the “experience economy” and the campus visit experience, and helps colleges learn and implement creative ways of connecting with their best-fit students. I look forward to his witty words of inspiration.
I want to thank our vendors for their support this year. Many have supported GACRAO for years and have provided generous financial support for our organization. Please take time to visit with each of them and thank them for their support.
I also want to thank the Executive Committee for a job well done. Angela Evans (Kennesaw State University), Nichole Kennedy (Technical College System of Georgia), Scott Argo (Augusta State University), Jennifer Brannon (Middle Georgia College), James Johnson (DeKalb Technical College), David Booze (Spelman College), Tara Askew (Columbus Technical College), Melanie Mirande (Armstrong Atlantic State University), and Mack Palmour (Gainesville State College have worked hard to make this conference a success.
To those of you who have served on committees and are presenting, thank you, thank you, thank you!
Enjoy the 57th GACRAO annual conference and be prepared to leave feeling Informed, Involved, and Inspired!