The UpLink

It’s the end of the first NACURH quarter and I must say that it has been an interesting three (3) months. When I assumed my position, my first priority was the training of the ADs-NRHH. This was a major concern of mine due to an influx of residence hall association based leaders (with NRHH membership) who have never served in any NRHH leadership role serving in one of the most critical positions in the honorary (the other being a NRHH Representative or equivalent). Each AD-NRHH was put through HEART Training and was given the entire summer to learn everything they could about their region, its chapter needs, issues and concerns. This was done, and has been so for years, so that they would be well equipped to represent their region to the best of their ability in the fall and spring. I am happy to say that the ADs-NRHH are ready to get to work as a board with a strong emphasis on recognition, service, scholastics and recruitment.

First and foremost, NACURH is a student organization that offers leadership opportunities to all whom are willing to accept the challenge, but we also have to handle that other part- which is that of a corporation. As National Executives we are responsible for handling the day to day operation of the organization which, in itself, can be one stressful situation. It is our intention to serve NACURH to the best of our ability; this sometimes comes with long days and many sleepless nights. One thing that is very beneficial to us are quarterly evaluations completed by your Regional Directors. These are a medium for members of the National Board of Directors (NBD) to rate us (National Executives) on various measures (professionalism, communication, resourcefulness and availability). We just completed our first quarter rounds and are extremely thankful to the NBD for giving us pointers on how we can improve ourselves and be better representatives of the organization.

Looking back on this quarter, there have been a lot of low points and a lot of high points- NRHH membership cards, National Executive Retreat, NRHH Website, etc. In any organization, situation, or stage of life it is very important to not let failures get the best of you. We must all take risks in order to survive or, in our case, move the organization forward- It is also extremely important to have a very good friend to ventilate your frustrations to (Thanks Jmac). When I bid for this position I had numerous goals that I felt were very important to move NRHH forward. As the transition phase was coming to a close, I knew all to well that I would spend my entire term strengthening the foundation and pride of the honorary. As it is, I risk not fulfilling all of my goals that I proposed to the NBD when I bid at the NACURH Semi-Annuals; which could look bad on me in the end, but it is a risk that I am willing to take to strengthen the honorary.

As you each begin your terms as leadership on the campus and regional levels, I want you to take pride in everything you do. It is pride that motivates others- the executive board, members and the individual residents. In order for others to notice your organization, you must have pride in it; and in my opinion, there is no pride like NACURH pride!!! GO RECOGNIZE…

- Ron Hamner, NAN

August is the quietest month in NACURH. This generally is due to students returning to school, and many student leaders are in some form of training this month (at least in the semester schools, I’m sure this is not the case in most of PACURH). As such, I’ve found I’ve had to tone it down myself just to make sure people don’t become overwhelmed.

Right now, we have a couple of pieces of legislation in the pipe that will go through review. One involves revamping RCC policies, which has gone back to the RCCs for review, another will deal with making many small changes to policy to insert the National Associate for NRHH and Special Initiatives into various places where he was left out. A third that should come up this month involves sending the NAA to Bowling Green State University (go CAACURH) to sort out the NACURH Archives so that they are useable by this organization. I’m very happy that the National Board decided to pay Ann Bowers, the Archivist for the National Student Affairs Archive at BGSU.

The one thing that is making August loud is my recent decision to not invite Regional Advisors to Semis. While I still stand by the fact that I made the right choice, I am now starting to see and understand that the way I went about publicizing this decision that has caused trouble. The NBD is upset with me for not consulting with them prior to making this decision. As National Chair I have to understand and learn from my mistakes and this is my first major blunder.

Otherwise, we are now entering report season again. I should start getting my first round of quarterly reports and evaluations, which I’m quite excited about. Committee reports will start trickling in as well closer to their due date. Your Regional Directors and ADs are doing an amazing job with all their work. You should let them know how much you appreciate them.

That’s all for now. On a personal note, I start graduate school on Monday with my first class, Intro to Student Affair (yay!). I’m pretty excited because the instructor for that one is a former SWACURH Regional Advisor. Let me know if you ever have questions or concerns. Stay cool in the heat!

Ok, I promised this days ago, but settling in has taken a bit longer than I thought. I’m good now, I’m just about settled in and I’m loving my grad assistantship so far. But this post is about the journey, not the destination.

Look what I found!

I picked Jamil Malone, SWACURH Director, up at LaGuardia Airport in Queens on Thursday, July 31st. We met with Jordan Shyi at the NIC to take a look at the office and drop off some NACURH recruitment guides. He also gave me a parting gift for my journey, an old NACURH sign that they were going to throw out. We then had dinner with Jordan Peterson, 06-07 NEACURH Director and we hoped Jay Dixon, the Past NACURH Chair would be joining us, but he never made it.

On Friday August 1st, with Jamil Malone the SWACURH Director in tow, I embarked on a 1500 mile journey from the outskirts of New York City to the middle of Oklahoma. Read on as I recount the tale of this 40 hour trek across America.

We left my house at 7 AM on Friday, stopping briefly so I could get bagels to take to Oklahoma with me (just a little bit of home). We drove through New Jersey, which was mostly uneventful, and then crossed into Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is a beautiful state, there’s trees and mountains everywhere. Some mountains, you even drive underneath. That was fun because I didn’t know it was customary to hold your breath in a tunnel (coming from downstate New York we have tunnels everywhere).  It also has some of the most interesting town names we saw such as Lover, PA or Eighty Four, PA.

We made a quick stop for Jamil at an old camp he used to go to near Pittsburg. Everyone was pretty excited to see him there and was sad he couldn’t stay longer. The other fun part of this area was Bob. Bob was our third man for a good portion of the trip. He’s a radio station that just plays anything and everything. We went from Funk to Classic Rock to Pop. It was fun.

Me Posing with 2 Regional Directors and a TGIF Hostess

We next passed into West Virginia. We had forgotten we drove through WV, so it was fun when we got there. We almost went to the Palace of Gold in Bethlehem, WV, but it was a 15 minute detour and we had dinner plans with Johnny B., CAACURH Director.

After our 12 minute drive across West Virginia, we came into Ohio. It started to pour for a bit in Ohio. I don’t remember much of it, I was asleep for a good portion of Ohio (I was not driving at the time). We met Johnny B. outside of Columbus for some dinner at TGI Fridays. There was a bad accident so we were both delayed a bit but it all worked out. After dinner we headed on to Indianapolis, which once again I don’t remember much of because I slept again.

We stayed at a La Quinta in Indianapolis, but there was no staff meeting (some former IACURH Execs should know what I’m talking about). Afterwards came the next part of the journey. I started out this drive, heading southwest toward St. Louis. We first passed the world’s largest ketchup bottle, in Collinsville, IL,

We crossed the Mississippi into St. Louis, where I finally realized how big that arch really is. We met Ben White, MACURH Director, at the UMSL campus. He took us to get some sandwhiches and then we posed for a picture.

Me and Ben White staring into the sun

We also passed through Rolla, MO, home of Missouri University of Science and Technology. We stopped there for gas, and then got lost trying to get back to the interstate. After passing stone henge (and not getting a picture), we finally made it back on track. Shortly after this, we switched driving rolls. I was much more energeized today and wanted to give Jamil a break after he drove so much yesterday.

From here we headed onto Springfield Missouri, where we went in search of the world’s largest fork (standing at 35 feet tall).  After posing for some pictures, and discovering I was not allowed to lay on the grass in front of it, we got back in the car to head for Oklahoma. However, just before the border, we took a slight detour to pass into Kansas. This allowed us to say we had driven through 10 states, and not whimpy North Eastern states but big midwestern states.

We finally made it to Tulsa at 7 PM and had dinner with some Reslife folk there. After saying hi to Gennie Lynn, the wonderful SWACURH Advisor, we headed out to Stillwater. At 10:00 PM, on Saturday August 2nd, I had arrived at Oklahoma State University, my new home.

I have to really thank Jamil Malone for his help and for keeping me sane on this trip. I know it sounds like I napped a lot but when you’re moving halfway across America for the first time in your life, you don’t get much sleep at night. I could never have made this trip without him. Thank you buddy And for now, I leave you with this:

Posing in front of a 35 foot tall fork

I feel like a first year, entering college again for the first time. In three days, I leave New York for Stillwater, Oklahoma. I now understand how many new undergraduates must feel, as they leave home to go further away to college. It’s quite hard to think about, leaving everything I’ve ever known behind. I’ve grown up in the shadow of New York City my entire life, it’s been a constant in my time on this earth. Leaving to move halfway across the country for the next couple of years is just harrowing.

On the bright side, I know people in the area down there. Jamil Malone, the SWACURH Regional Director will be flying up to New York to escort me to my new home. OSU just hosted NACURH 08, so I’ve got a handful of people I’ve met to interact with.

So the fun part comes now. In three days, when I leave, Jamil and I will be seeing some fun sites, meeting with some cool people along the way. I’ll be updating the blog on the trip (I booked a hotel that supposedly has free internet) so look for that.

NACURH in the meantime has undergone some big things since the Executive Retreat.  Both the NIC and the NSRO have completed transitioning to their new host schools. The NBD has now had 5 chats, which is more than it has ever normally had in 1 semester. I think that the bi-weekly chat system has been extremely beneficial to NACURH, it keeps us on our toes and facilitates a faster pace of getting work done. Committees have either started to meet or are getting set for their first meeting.

As always, keep on rocking! If anyone has any suggestions for my trip to help pass the boredom of a 1500 mile drive, let me know.

Hey NACURH! This is your friendly neighborhood National Associate for Administration updating you all on what I’ve been up to! I won’t go into great detail about what I do on a monthly basis here- for that, you’ll have to check out the NACURH forum, where all four of the National Executives post their monthly reports. 

That brings up the one thing I wanted to remind you all of- the NACURH forum! It is such a great resource to utilize, especially as a campus representative. As an NCC, I used it to gain feedback for my institution, and I returned the favor by helping others around the country. I heartily encourage you all to register for an account and post on the forum ASAP!

Last weekend, as has been written, the National Executives met at the University of South Florida for our summer retreat. First of all, I had a blast. Do you ever get that sense of overwhelming accomplishment after working on something? I had that feeling while flying back from this retreat. NACURH has so much going for it this year- I’m very excited about what is to come. The next project due to come out is the premiere of Flat Avi. I’m currently constructing a fancy memo about Flat Avi, and I’ll be sure to post more info here as well when all the details are finalized. Basically, schools around NACURH will have the opportunity to host a paper version of the National Chairperson for up to four days. We want Flat Avi to see your campus and maybe even poke his head into an RHA and/or NRHH meeting. All you have to do is take a couple pictures, record what Flat Avi did, then send him onto the next school. You can be Flat Avi’s friend on facebook and he even has his own e-mail account- flatavi@nacurh.org. 

Personally, I am preparing for my move to grad school. I will be leaving the fair region of MACURH, where I have been hosted by Minnesota State University, Mankato for the past four years and going onto the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse, in the land of GLACURH. In a week, the entire move will be done and I will be settling in on the banks of the Mississippi and in the scenic bluffs of La Crosse, Wisconsin. 

I would love to chat with any of you- you can e-mail me at naa@nacurh.org or IM on AOL Instant Messenger- nacurhnaa.

So much has gone on since my last post I almost have no clue where to begin. I am really excited about getting the NRHH National Committees started for this term. In previous years board members were the only individuals that could serve and it was felt that these committees should be open to the campus perspective. I will be reviewing applications over the weekend and placing individuals into the committees. If you are interested you have until July 18^th to do. THE COMMITTEES ARE OPEN TO RHA & NRHH MEMBERS. The application can be accessed at:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=tFMolDILZT2XzKC61ciyMA_3d_3d.

The National Executive Retreat went really well. We got a program planned for regional conferences that the Execs will facilitate. It is definitely going to be loads of fun for both the Exec and those 50-75 delegates in attendance. All I can say is prepare for questionable good time. In addition, we discussed a couple of the finer details of the operation side of the OTM Database and looked at a new NRHH webpage. We are hoping to go live on it August 1^st…keep your fingers crossed. We had an awesome time with Valerie (National Advisor) and Jason Seguin (USF NCC) they made us feel welcomed and very much so at home while in Tampa.

I have had 1-on-1 meetings with almost all of the Associate Directors of NRHH (ADs-NRHH) [side note: RADs was removed nationally as a term although some regions can still utilize it, if they wish]. They are all really excited to serve in their respective regions and look forward to working with each of your chapters this term. I look forward to working with them and seeing the great things that they will do for our honorary.

On a personal note, I was informed that I was a recipient of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Albert W. Dent Scholarship. I am really excited about this because it is an honor to be awarded by your professional organization, especially when looking for residencies; which I will be doing in the fall. Anyway, that is it for me guys. Have a great week/weekend and of course…GO RECOGNIZE!!!

- Ron Hamner, NAN

For years, the National Executives wouldn’t see each other in person until the Semi-Annual meeting. About three years ago, the Execs decided it would be a good idea to meet in the summer to facilitate a stronger sense of camaraderie and get a jump start on projects for the year.  So, this past weekend was the 2008-2009 National Executive retreat down in Tampa, Florida. It was a great time, we got to bond, played a two hour game of Apples to Apples (at some point I will be uploading a video excerpt of that) and got a ton of work done.

Now the first thing you might wonder, why Tampa? Well Valerie Averill, our wonderful National Advisor happens to live there, and we felt it would be good to have her close at hand for the many questions that might arise as we worked on things. This proved to be true, as we wound up with millions of questions for her. She also took us around to some great restaurants and was our wheels for the weekend (if you’re ever in the Tampa area, go to Lee Roy Selmon’s for some delicious food).  Valerie, we love you and thank you for your willingness to give up your weekend to ferry us around. Also, we need to thank the University of South Florida for putting us up for the two nights we were there. We also enjoyed having lunch with Jason, their NCC, on Saturday.

Execs + Advisor at Dinner on Saturday at Lee Roy Selmon's: Valerie Averill, National Advisor, Jason Hogan, NAF, Daryl Lawrence, NAA, Ron Hamner, NAN, and Avi Zacherman, National Chair (from left to right)

In terms of actual work we did, there was quite a bit. For one, I’ve filed Trade/Servicemark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. So in 4-5 months, when the massive wheels of bureaucracy finally turn a bit, someone will review it, and by NACURH 09 we should hear back. Specifically, I’ve trademarked the NRHH Diamond, the phrase ‘NRHH’, the phrase ‘NACURH,’ and the Links, our organization’s primary symbol.

A less bureaucratic, more fun thing we developed was Flat Avi. Flat Avi is me…kinda. It’s a project that Daryl Lawrence, the National Associate for Administration conceived, where I get to travel around NACURH in paper form. He’s going to be working on this over the summer so it’s ready to begin this fall. Look out for more information to be coming your way to see how you can get ahold of Flat Avi. Also, you can find him on facebook, by one of two ways. Firstly, you can simply just search for Flat Avi. I am pretty sure he’s the only one. You can also go to my Facebook profile and you’ll see I’m in a complicated relationship with him. Don’t ask…it’s complicated.

Execs doing work

The fact that we were with Valerie meant that Jason Hogan, the National Associate for Finance could sit down with her during one of our lulls and do a whole ton of boring money stuff. Transfering money around and auditing receipts and that kinda stuff. Normally this wouldn’t happen so quickly, but the fact that we were with Valerie made it that much easier.

We also worked to develop a program to present at the regional conferences we attend. A lot of this work was faciliated by Ron Hamner, the National Associate for NRHH and Special Initiatives, to whom we are very thankful. Oh, that reminds me. I should tell you which Exec you should look forward to getting to see at your conferences. Here is the list of Regional Executive Buddies:

• CAACURH - Ron Hamner, National Associate for NRHH and Special Initiatives
• GLACURH - Daryl Lawrence, National Associate for Administration
• IACURH - Avi Zacherman, National Chair
• MACURH - Avi Zacherman, National Chair
• NEACURH - Jason Hogan, National Associate for Finance
• PACURH - Daryl Lawrence, National Associate for Administration
• SAACURH - Ron Hamner, National Associate for NRHH and Speical Initiatives
• SWACURH - Jason Hogan, National Associate for Finance

I wonder if anyone could actually have had a more fun weekend than we did. Somehow, I doubt it.

Hey NACURH!

It’s holiday time! It’s time to celebrate American independence and enjoy some fireworks.  I hope everyone has a safe holiday and remembers to take time to relax and enjoy themselves, responsibly.

Through the past week I’ve mostly been handling the finalization of committee assignments and beginning preperation for the Exec Retreat next week. It’s gonna be some fun times. I can’t wait to see what these committees can do! Other than that, it’s been a quiet week in NACURH. Probably for the best.

So, what’s everyone doing for the 4th of July? Leave a comment below and let me know!

-Avi

Hello NACURH!!!

WARNING: These posts are strictly the thoughts of me as an individual. In my blogging, there will be some personal things that I will share in the series in addition to loads of NRHH, NACURH, Student Leadership and Advocacy blurbs. I promise I will try to keep you as entertained as I possibly can while still being informative and maybe even invoking some thought.

I hate to do this but this blog begins on a sad note. The only father I have ever known (because my biological one died when I was young), my grandfather, died Tuesday morning. It is somewhat of a difficult situation to talk about because it’s hard to explain the process of “watching” a loved ones health deteriorate over the past year. From an early age I knew smoking cigarettes couldn’t have been good for anyone’s health. Almost half of my cousins had asthma and smoking in their presence almost always ended up in a medical emergency. My grandfather, told many times by other family members and myself, never saw a good reason to stop smoking unfiltered cigarettes. I actually went into my undergraduate major with the thought that one day I was going to have to answer to his medical concerns. I cannot even begin to explain the multiple phone calls about respiratory drugs and mechanical ventilation questions that I was getting. Being a healthcare professional, I knew that it was time that I prepare myself for the worst and stop asking “when would he get better” and start preparing myself for when it was over. After about 4-months in an intensive care unit, 6-months in a long term care facility, 2-weeks in a nursing home, 2-months back in an intensive care unit, and 1-month of hospice care he now finally has peace.  I will always remember my grandfather because he always believed in me and respected everything that I have ever done; the man who taught me the evil eye and the stern word “no.” One of my biggest fears in life was to disappoint him.

Aside from that, this summer is definitely a hectic one. Who would have ever thought that assigning students 18 credit hours for the summer was a good idea? I attend classes Monday – Thursday from 5:30-9:45pm CDT. I am also on the UAB Housing Professional Staff (and for those of you who do not know, OMG, there is always some big program, project or event going on) and that occupies most of my day time hours in addition to my 1-hour workout schedule, 4 days a week. So needless to say I am one busy graduate student, but I still manage to get my 6++++ hours (Lol) into NACURH stuff so there are no worries there.

So I have opened a little portal into the life of one NACURH Executive. I will try bi-weekly to post updates on life, leadership and love…(Hmm, If it happens and I’ll have to get back to you on that one…). GO RECOGNIZE!!!  

- Ron Hamner, NAN