Partners in Learning was the theme from our annual MAPPA meeting this year. Our partners in Wisconsin went out of their way to make our learning experience successful and our visit enjoyable. In all, 132 business partners had 60 booths in the exhibit hall and their participation was greatly appreciated by the 190 MAPPA participants and 13 guests who attended.
The conference was held in the Monona Terrace Convention Center overlooking Lake Monona in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. The venue was an absolutely beautiful setting-most of our meals were in the Grand Terrace, where we could watch the sun rise and set over the lake. A breathtaking site for many of us land-locked Midwesterners.
The keynote session on Monday morning started us off on the right foot, with Charlie Jenkins, a long-time APPA member and wonderful speaker, talking about partnership in leadership. Charlie advised us that we can become campus-wide leaders by following three simple strategies: work within our circle of influence, become a transition person, and mind our emotional bank accounts. His presentation included several of the colorful quotes that have become a trademark of Charlie's; my personal favorite from this session was "Bloom where you're planted. Brighten the corner where you grow and people will notice."
The rest of Monday morning included four concurrent sessions: leadership presented by Charlie Jenkins; cost accounting presented by Clay Kline, from Maximus, Inc.; wireless technology presented by Steve Spiwak, ONDEO Nalco; and tech talk, which focused on fire protection at colleges and universities, presented by Jerry Piasecki, fire protection engineer, URS Corporation.
After lunch and a couple of hours networking with our business partners in the exhibit hall, participants broke into two groups for the experience exchange-a long-time favorite for everyone at our annual meetings. In light of recent events, many of the questions in both sessions revolved around safety and security issues. Another hot topic was budget cuts. Following the experience exchange, participants had the opportunity to visit with our business partners one more time in the exhibit hall.
Monday evening everyone enjoyed Casino Night on the Grand Terrace. Obviously the University of Wisconsin is more financially flush than their colleagues at other schools because they gave each person $10,000 to start with. Of course, it was play money.
On Tuesday morning, following the annual business meeting, APPA President Gary Reynolds treated us to a talk. It was nice to welcome Gary back to MAPPA (he was one of us before he moved to Colorado and joined RMA). Gary's personal reflections on leadership were enjoyed by all.
Four concurrent sessions were held on Tuesday morning: University of Wisconsin (UW) Utility Project, Building Audits-Where Do We Begin?, FMEP (Facilities Management Evaluation Program), and Beyond Measuring and Verifying.
After the break additional sessions were offered including: EPA Initiatives, Landscape Services MAPPA Web Page and Its Unlimited Opportunities, and Ergonomic and Safety Initiatives.
After lunch there were three topics to chose from: Financial Planning in an Uncertain Financial World, Building an Environmentally Sustainable Campus, and Train Like a Pro.
A new concept was available after lunch: MAPPA Cracker Barrel hot topics. Several topics were discussed at various locations and participants moved through to attend several. Topics included security issues, budgets and financial concerns, energy and utilities, benchmarking, environment, vehicles, new buildings, and staffing challenges.
After the new officers were sworn in at the annual banquet, we had the pleasure of being entertained by the Stoughton Norwegian Dancers. These high school students enabled us to experience first-hand the strong Scandinavian influence of the Midwest.
Wednesday morning we were greeted by our hosts in costume at a Halloween breakfast. Kris Ackerbauer apparently received some second looks by security personnel at the conference center when he appeared in his full survival suit, complete with gas mask!
New officers for the coming year include: President Alan Bigger (University of Notre Dame), President-elect Clay Shetler (Goshen College), Secretary John Ott (Ohio State University/OARDC), and Treasurer Jerry Carlson (Illinois State University).
A first for MAPPA, copies of electronic presentations from this year's conference will be posted to the MAPPA Web Page at www.M-APPA.org. If you were unable to attend the conference or if you attended but would like to visit again, please take a look.
A special thanks to our program and host committees, whose hard work exemplified the theme of Partners in Learning. We look forward to next year's annual conference in Ames, Iowa, September 29-October 2, 2002.