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NACTA's 2017 Annual Conference was hosted by Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, June 28 - July 1. The theme was "INnovation IN Learning IN the Heartland." Dr. Dennis Buckmaster served as the chair of the local planning committee at Purdue. The Conference featured 145 oral presentations, 141 poster presentations, six workshops and six local tours. Also, The Blue Ribbon Speaker was Dr. Jeff Hattey, Assistant Dean, from The Ohio State University who presented "Are You My Teacher?" Ms. Beth Bechdol, President and CEO of AgriNovis Indiana was the Keynote Speaker presenting, "Indiana's Agbiosciences - Creating a Movement, Forcing Collisions, and Growing Talent." Additionally, 58 post-secondary teachers of agriculture, food and natural resources received recognition at the awards banquet. Complete details about the 2017 NACTA Conference can be found on our website (http:// www.nactateachers.org/index.php/2017-63rd-pudueuniversity-west-lafayette-in).
All members of NACTA and the NACTA Executive Committee express their appreciation to Purdue University, Dr. Buckmaster and the local planning committee for hosting another outstanding NACTA Conference!
During the Conference the Executive Committee met twice and heard reports from the NACTA officers and committee chairs. These can be found on the NACTA website. Included here are the NACTA Secretary and Treasurer Reports and the Business meeting minutes.
Finally, at the 2017 NACTA Conference, Dr. Mark Russell became the President of NACTA. His remarks as the new president are also included.
Secretary's Report - June 2017
General
* Membership records are maintained in Microsoft Excel and QuickBooks. We continue to implement QuickBooks for membership record-keeping. Individuals and Institutions have received invoices for their yearly membership dues since fall 2016. Karen Earwood sends out invoices and helps in maintaining these records
* Records include contact information (no phone numbers), payment type, membership code/ region, unique membership number (no credit card numbers are kept on file)
* We have used MailChimp for e-Newsletters for information and reminders
Memberships - New and Renewals
* Emails are sent to individuals in the fall; two reminders are sent through QuickBooks after that time
* Payment can be taken by check, credit card (VISA or Mastercard) by PayPal (online) or QuickBooksIntuit (GoPayment), fax or mail, or by calling the secretary
* Members continue to take advantage of the 3-year membership option
* New members receive a "Welcome to...