upcoming SAWA conferences:

SAWA 2008 Management Conference   Thursday, June 19 – Saturday, June 21, 2008     Westin Crown Center, Kansas City, Missouri           Come To Kansas City and “learn a Thing or Two!”     This conference complements the annual SAWA fall conference and provides an opportunity to delve into critical issues affecting your daily work. all courses are approved for CaWa CeUs.     Kansas City New Discoveries Daily     An energetic city forged by a rich history, Kansas City is brimming with activities to keep you entertained – eclectic cuisine, swinging jazz, one-of-a-kind museums, a thriving arts scene and fantastic shopping. Part of the city’s charm lies in its impressive network of parks and boulevards and of course, exquisite fountains. The worldrenowned jazz legacy continues today in clubs throughout the city. For barbeque lovers, the city’s signature food can be found at more than 100 barbeque establishments, but visitors also delight in restaurants of very ethnic origin. Pack your bags and discover something unique and unexpected in Kansas City. The Westin Crown Center, located in Hallmark’s Crown Center, offers easy access to 85 acres of shops, restaurants, and theatres. The adjacent Union Station is a fully restored 1914 landmark and home to a permanent rail exhibit with vintage rail cars, an interactive science center, a vibrant Theater District featuring giant-screen movies and live theater, fine restaurants, unique shops, and much more. Of course, you can still catch the train at Union Station, once again among Amtrak’s busiest stops. You will be delighted to find the hotel is also close to attractions such as the Liberty Memorial WWI monument, museums, and professional sports. The hotel has plenty of activities to help you relax and revive, including a whirlpool, sauna, steam room, outdoor heated swimming pool and track, as well as tennis courts. The guest rooms feature Westin’s signature Heavenly Bed®, with a pillow top mattress and 250 thread count sheets. The pet-friendly hotel even has a Heavenly Dog Bed available on request. You can keep up with work with High Speed Internet in all guest rooms (at an additional charge) and enjoy complimentary wireless internet throughout the public areas of the hotel. *Register Online Now! *Download Printable Brochure     Joint Conference Schedule     On the first session day, this conference brings together in joint session participants from the three disciplines critical to managing an animal welfare organization: administration/finance, operations and fundraising. The second session day focuses on separate tracks, which delve into topics of importance to each of the disciplines.     Thursday, June 19, 2008     10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Registration 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Wayside Waifs Tours Buses will depart from hotel lobby 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Networking Session Cocktails & Conversation presented by Hill's 8:00 p.m. Dinner on your own. Choose from restaurants in the adjacent Union Station, take the complimentary hotel shuttle to Country Club Plaza and explore the restaurant scene there, or head for one of the nearby casinos. This is a chance to gather with long-time colleagues and to meet and welcome new colleagues.   Friday, June 20, 2008   7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Registration 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Joint Session 1 “Outbehave” Your Competition - Part 1 Build behaviors your employees will adopt and deliver to improve profitability, loyalty and sales. This interactive presentation will help participants solve this “failure to execute” epidemic by getting them on the path to identifying proprietary behaviors and experiences employees can do each day to create brand loyalty. Gregg Lederman, Founder and Managing Partner – Brand Integrity, Inc. Joint Session 2 “Outbehave” Your Competition - Part 2 Gregg Lederman 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Lunch 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Joint Session 3 Creating a High Functioning Executive Team Donald M. Davis, Jr., VP of Human Resources/Customer Relations – Health Alliance Plan. 2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Joint Session 4 Engaging Your Employees in Your Mission Donald M. Davis, Jr. 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 pm. Take Me Out to the Ball Game! Kansas City Royals vs. San Francisco Giants Enjoy a casual evening of fun with your colleagues! Buses depart the Westin beginning at 6:00 p.m. to travel to Kauffman Stadium where we will enjoy dinner in the exclusive Stadium Club followed by the baseball game.     Saturday, June 21, 2008     7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. Administration, Development & Operations Tracks Continental Breakfast 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m Administration Tracks 990 – Changes and What We Need to Know Learn the impact of the recently revised 990 IRS Form on your organization. RubinBrown New Audit Requirements Their Impact on our Organizations As we all are experiencing or will very soon experience, the audit is changing and getting more intense. Hear what audit firms are looking for in the new audit requirements and how we can best achieve successful audits. RubinBrown Development Track Advancing A Culture of Philanthropy in Your Organization Best practices in creating a culture of philanthropy, building the platform for effective major gift fundraising, and developing a successful, disciplined and effective fundraising program. Bill Littlejohn, Senior VP and CEO – Sharp HealthCare Foundation Beyond the Ask: Donor Stewardship Learn more about why donor stewardship needs to be an integral part of your development plan. Kimberly will share her experience in helping animal welfare development offices improve their effectiveness and growth. Kimberly Johnson, President – Kimberly Consulting, Inc. Operations Track Forensics in Animal Cruelty Investigations Dr. Merck will address the importance of veterinary forensics in animal cruelty investigations in a lecture, which will also examine the impact of abuse on animal welfare, the link between animal abuse and other crimes and consider future possibilities for this important new field. Melinda D. Merck DVM, Senior Director Shelter Services – ASPCA 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. All Tracks Combined Lunch 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Administration Track Roundtable Discussion Talk with your colleagues about those issues most important to your daily work. HR Hot Topics An expert in Human Resources management will present and lead a discussion around key issues concerning FSLA as Exempt vs. Non-Exempt, Recruitment, Retention, and other topics. Oasis Outsourcing Development Track The Comprehensive Development Plan Attendees will learn about making and working a Comprehensive Development Plan, and why having one is critical for your fundraising success. It provides a tailored organizational overview for your fundraising program, complete with targeted observations, detailed priorities, benchmarks and recommendations that motivate your organization to raise more money. Lonelle R. Rathje, MA, Senior Vice President – Hartsook Companies A Board with a Mission: How to Have One Raising funds for your organization without the support of your board can be an uphill struggle. During this workshop, you will learn proven strategies that can be implemented immediately to give Board members the confidence and tools needed to cultivate donors, solicit gifts and strengthen your organization's position in the community. Bridgette O’Connor, MSW, Vice President – Hartsook Companies Operations Track Shelter Architecture Panel Whether you are considering a new building or a “do-it-on-a-dime” remodeling project, these experienced shelter architects will share the latest in shelter design. Paul Bonacci, AIA, Founder and Partner- ARQ Architects Stephen Jensen, AIA, Founder and Partner - Blue Sky Collaborative Architecture Thomas Johnson, Principal – Thomas Johnson/Architect Lucinda Schlaffer, AIA, Founder and Partner – ARQ Architects Rainbow Discussion This is your chance to engage your colleagues in a discussion of the topics most important to you. 4:00 p.m. Conference closes. Attendees can make 6:00 p.m. or later flights.     Speaker Bios     Paul Bonacci graduated from Rhode Island School of Design and Lucinda Schlaffer from University of California at Berkeley in 1979. They are active members in AIA ecology/technology professional interest groups and ADPSR (Architects, Designers and Planners for Social Responsibility) and hold licenses in California, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Maine. Paul and Lucy have been featured for design and acoustic excellence in Pro Sound magazine, Architectural Record, and Interiors Magazine, and have lectured at national conferences on animal care including Tufts Animal Expo and the Marin Humane Cat Care Conference. ARQ is engaged nationally in projects for humane societies building upon the groundbreaking success of Maddie’s Pet Adoption Center at the San Francisco SPCA. Donald M. Davis, Jr. is vice president of human resources/customer relations for Health Alliance Plan (HAP), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Henry Ford Health System, which is one of the largest managed care companies in Michigan with over 560,000 members. He has over thirty years experience in all areas of HR, including pioneering efforts to market and measure the effectiveness of HR. In addition to human resources, he leads HAP’s customer relations efforts. He is a contributing author of “Human Resources Strategies.” Stephen Jensen, AIA is the founder and principal architect at Blue Sky Collaborative Architecture. He has been working on animal projects since 1986. From 1986 until 2003, shelters and veterinary work was interwoven with retail, hospitality, industrial, commercial and residential projects while Stephen developed a diverse and varied background in animal work. Since Stephen has been working with humane societies, he has become practiced at thinking the way that shelter and veterinary managers do. He incorporates every aspect of animal care and handling into his designs. Kimberly Johnson is president of Kimberly Consulting, Inc. Founded in 1997, KCI specializes in guiding nonprofit organizations through institutional growth and capital expansion. Kimberly Consulting, Inc. has a successful track record designing and implementing multimillion dollar integrated capital, operating and endowment campaigns. She recently served as an Executive-on-Loan to Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. Thomas Johnson is the principal and registered architect of Thomas Johnson Architect. He is also a registered landscape architect. He has worked on many animal shelter projects including shelters in North Carolina, Maryland, Washington, and in Canada. Gregg lederman, MBA is the founder and managing partner of Brand Integrity, Inc. and a professor at the Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester. He helps take mission statements off walls and into employee actions. His book, “Achieve Brand Integrity: Ten Truths You Must Know to Enhance Employee Performance and Increase Company Profits” and his company’s trademarked process is based on work with hundreds of top brands. As a columnist for Gannett Newspapers, he shares ways to improve productivity, loyalty and sales. Bill Littlejohn is senior vice president and chief executive officer of Sharp HealthCare Foundation in San Diego. He oversees the $20 million annual philanthropic program for Sharp. During his tenure at Sharp, philanthropic revenues have more than doubled and the number of donors has more than tripled. Melinda D. Merck, DVM is senior director of veterinary forensics for the ASPCA. She frequently testifies as a forensic veterinary expert for animal cruelty cases around the country, including cases involving animal hoarding, dog fighting and animal torture. She is the co-author of “Veterinary Forensic Investigation of Animal Cruelty: A Guide for Veterinarians and Law Enforcement” and the author of “Veterinary Forensics: Animal Cruelty Investigation”. Oasis Outsourcing is the nation’s largest privately held Professional Employer Organization. Oasis provides its clients with human resources services, benefits administration, payroll processing, staffing, workers’ compensation and more. Oasis serves close to 3,000 clients and 80,000 employees throughout the U.S. Bridgette O’Connor, MSW is vice president of Hartsook Companies and an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Mid-America Planned Giving Council. Before joining Hartsook, she was the director of development for Kansas City’s Marillac Center for Children, where she led an $8 million capital campaign, surpassing the initial goal in just two years. Lonelle R. Rathje, MA is the Senior VP of Hartsook Companies where she serves clients nationwide with capital campaign organization and execution, major gift strategies, annual fund development and strategic planning. Prior to joining Hartsook, she was director of development at Northwest Missouri State University where her team effort secured the university’s first $10 million gift and raised $45 million in the university’s first capital campaign –more than double the goal. RubinBrown provides service to closely held and publicly traded companies in specialized market sectors as well as non-profit and public sector organizations. They believe the key to providing value to clients is their “one-firm” culture - a spirit of teamwork and shared commitment to client service. The RubinBrown team has become renowned for its ability to thoroughly explore alternatives and identify fresh approaches that help clients build and protect value, while at all times honoring the responsibility to serve the public interest.     Registration Information     Registration Fees       Early: Regular: Members: $150 $175 Non-Member: $185 $200 Note: Early registration must be received by May 17, 2008. Registration deadline June 6, 2008.     *Register Online Now!     Download Printable Brochure     Hotel Reservation Information     The Westin Crown Center 1 East Pershing Road Kansas City, MO 64108 For reservations call 888-627-8538 or Reserve Online Reservations must be made by May 17, 2008 for special rate. $149/night single/double plus tax. Starwood Preferred Points available to Starwood Guest Members. Note: Those who register by May 17 will receive a one-time $50 credit toward their room bill from SAWA.           For additional conference information contact: Judy Burnett, Solutions, conference coordinator, 317-443-9943, judyburnett@iquest.net Alice Calabrese, Lollypop Farm, 585-295-5232, alice@lollypop.org           *Register Online Now!     Download Printable Brochure

Fall Conference November 9-12, 2008 Scottsdale Plaza Resort, Scottsdale, Arizona Download Flyer Here