Have you ever played Trivial Pursuit with 15 librarians? I had the pleasure of playing the classic edition with the ALAO Executive Board members during our annual retreat at the Deer Creek State Park. This second annual friendly competition takes place at the end of day one and has become my favorite part of the retreat. We can kick back and have fun, while demonstrating the power of teamwork. Not only do I leave the game a wee bit smarter, I leave knowing that together, our group can accomplish great things.
At the retreat we had a changing of the guard, welcoming newly elected and appointed board members and bidding farewell to two of our long-time webmasters. I want to take this opportunity to thank our long-time webmasters, Frank Bove and Karen Plummer, from the University of Akron, for their years of service. Thank you Frank and Karen! Rob Withers (Miami) and Melissa Bauer (Walsh) have now joined Brian Gray (Case Western) to serve as our webmasters.
During the retreat we welcomed six new elected board members – Betsy Blankenship, VP/President Elect, Diane Kolosionek, Secretary, Alison Ricker, Membership Chair; and three new Board Members-at-Large, Kathleen Pickens-French, Katy Kelly, and Mark Eddy. I look forward to working with all 30 members of our Board in 2012.
Our Executive Board still has a vacancy which we would very much like to fill. We are in need of a Government Relations Liaison. The function and activities required of this position are listed in our procedures manual. I also encourage you to read the Library Legislative Day report written by Alison Ricker, who attended LLD in April of 2012. This position gives you the opportunity to work with fellow Ohio colleagues, network with librarians around the country, and keep up-to-date on important legislative and government developments. Please consider joining us in this very important role.
The conference planning committee is gearing up for our annual conference on October 26th in Wilmington. I hope you have had time to visit our conference website to preview the great line-up of events. This year we will offer two preconferences on Thursday and a jam packed agenda on Friday. Registration will be open very soon. I look forward to seeing you there!
Best of luck as you all launch into fall term, especially those of us who are embarking on a new semester schedule.
Oh, and should you need to know for that next Trivial Pursuit game, the jaguar is the largest cat in South America!

Warmest Regards,
Sue Polanka
ALAO President