In just one short week many of us will be making our way up the U.S. east coast to Portland, Maine to attend the 33rd annual INANE conference!  It promises to be a fabulous  event – thanks to the dedication of Leslie Nicoll, our host, our planning group, and so many others who have contributed to what we are doing now and whose unwavering efforts laid a strong foundation on which to build! Together we all make INANE “happen!”

At the business meeting in Portland, we will create the structure for all that will be unfolding beyond the conference in Portland, Maine, but we want to be sure that everyone has the opportunity now to participate, and become a part of a volunteer team! Here are the groups we are organizing:

• Internet Services Workgroup – we would like to add 3 to 4 people to assist with this work which includes updating the website, writing blog posts, and coordinating social media, including our Facebook page and Twitter feed. A new task will be helping with keeping the Directory of Nursing Journals, introduced earlier this month, updated and properly vetted.
• INANE 2015 Planning Committee – general all purpose help with planning the conference.  We already have several volunteers, including Leslie Nicoll and Peggy Chinn from the 2014 group, Gary Bell who will be hosting the 2016 conference in London, Jillian Inouye who is assisting with local Las Vegas details, and Denise Tyler who will be working with abstract committee.  If you want to join this core planning group, let us know!
• 2015 Abstracts Committee – this group will organize the call for abstracts for posters and breakout sessions, review submissions, make decisions regarding sessions, notify speakers, finalize the program with the session information, and be in touch with the speakers to coordinate their presentations as the time of the conference draws near.
• Suzanne Smith Development Fund and Mentoring Editors Awards Committee (Leslie to chair) – this group will organize the process for receiving submissions for the awards, review and select winners, notify winners (and those not selected), get photos, publicize the winners, and so on. The committee will also oversee the Suzanne Smith Development Fund and create a process for ongoing donations to the fund plus disbursement of funds to support the Mentoring Editors Awards.
• Margaret Comerford Freda Leadership Award committee – (transition from Shawn Kennedy as 2014 Chair) – this group will organize the process for receiving nominations for the award, review and select the winner, notify the winner (and those not selected), finalize details of the award, and plan for presentation at INANE 2015. The group will also have preliminary conversations of financial support of the award beyond 2016.

If you have other ideas or ways you would like to be involved, please send a message through the Feedback Form. INANE works because of our true spirit of volunteerism and the dedication of all involved with our organization.

See you soon!

Peggy

for the Planning Committee: Leslie Nicoll, Margaret Freda, Shawn Kennedy, Lisa Marshall, Jean Proehl and honoring the memory of our colleague, Suzanne Smith.