Her Glass is Half Full!

Sometimes don't you wonder if it all boils down to your perspective on things? You know "Are you a glass half full or glass half empty type of person?" As many of you know, there were plenty of things that weren't exactly perfect about our grantee conference this year. As is evident here, I'm trying to maintain a sense of humor about most of them and know that there are always lessons to be learned for next time.

Well here's one thing I know for sure: Jeanette Phillips with Mountain View Youth and Family Services is definitely a glass half full kind of gal! Bless her heart, Jeanette does a bang up job with her grant funded program in Carroll County, reaching every 6th and 7th grader with the LST program.

She also has been a great resource at our conferences the past two years - speaking at a "Spice Up Your Programs" break out session in 2008 and providing a grantee exhibit in 2009. Evidently Jeanette has a good deal of patience too. Miss Jeanette came home with conference stories of her own including room service that runs an hour late and water glasses with cracks and lipstick imprints on them. YIKES!


All I can say is "Thanks for enduring, Jeanette!" And yes, we'll probably know which evaluation form is yours when we read it. :)


Thoughts? Similar conference nightmare stories? Photos? Send 'em on or comment here!

Grantee Conference Wrap Up

It was great seeing all of you wonderful SW grantees in Richmond earlier this week! I hope your travels home were safe and that you gained some new information and resources as a result of our event. I definitely learned a few things at the 2009 VTSF Grantee Conference and I couldn't wait to post at least a few of them here:

10. If ever you are asked to serve on the Audio/Visual Set Up Team for a conference of 200+ of your favorite colleagues and esteemed co-workers, be sure to smile politely, say no thanks and RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN in the opposite direction!

9. If you actually end up serving on said Team, be sure to wear sensible shoes.

8. If you are a die-hard Coke drinker and stay at the Downtown Marriott in Richmond, you should probably plan to pack a cooler or be ready to spend much of your time tracking down vending machines on Broad Street.

7. If you ever find yourself working on AV and trying to track down a Diet Coke simultaneously, keep up with your wallet.

6. Cold tortellini in alfredo sauce is not all that tasty.

5. Prevention conferences are always made more interesting when elderly folks from a neighboring meeting room (can anyone say Family Reunion?) wander into break out sessions and offer their assistance.

4. When hosting a tobacco use prevention event that also includes obesity information, it is just plain TORTUOUS to be meeting near groups that have candy bars and cheesecake offered during breaks.

3. Consult your hotel floor plan promptly upon arrival. Otherwise you could be schlepping A LOT of AV equipment A LONG WAY in very uncomfortable shoes.

2. Even the brightest of yellow folders, can and do end up MIA sometimes.

1. Despite the ups and downs of conference planning, a few logistical nightmares and some just plain blonde moments, this week was a good one and I'm thankful for the fine folks I work with (and especially thankful for their patience with me)!

Have a great story you'd like to share from our conference this year? Leave a comment or email me.

"Hit the Road TXT L8R Campaign"

Elle magazine and clothing retailer Express have teamed up for a new print campaign and online PSA to create awareness about the dangers of texting while driving. Check out the August issue of Elle magazine or visit http://www.express.com/content.jsp?pageName=RADD to see the video.


Just recently, Virginia Tech issued a new study highlighting the increased collision risk when drivers text. You can see the entire article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/technology/28texting.html?_r=1

A great reminder for our teenage program participants, our own kids
and well yes, some of us too.

Register Now!

The 2009 VTSF Grantee Training Conference registration is now open!
VTSF marks its 10 year anniversary this year and we look forward to
"Celebrating the Past, Embracing the Present and Envisioning the Future"
with you on October 7-8 in Richmond.


You should have received this information via email but here's a link to
take you to the online registration page.


http://www.healthyyouthva.org/training/registration-form.asp?regfrm=102-ce

It's shaping up to be a great conference and I'm looking forward to seeing
all of your SMILING SOUTHWEST faces there! :)

Deciphering the new FDA legislation

Interested in learning more about the new FDA regulation of tobacco products? The Tobacco Control Legal Consortium recently issued two new publications to help us all break down the details of the legislation and its impact on state and local authority. Click on over today!

http://www.tclconline.org/Tclc.asp

Smoke vs. Smokeless?

The public health debate continues about the advantages and disadvantages of promoting smokeless tobacco products as a safer alternative to cigarettes. No one can deny that the smokeless tobacco market is changing and growing at a rapid pace. Check out this article about smokeless tobacco sales from a Convenience Store publication. http://www.csdecisions.com/article/6206




Note that in response to this article Bill Godshall, Executive Director of Smoke-Free Pennsylvania and outspoken 'harm reduction' advocate said "The quote attributed to Stan Glantz (in this article) is inaccurate, and the quote attributed to Timothy O'Leary at the WHO (in the second article) is deceiving. Both statements intentionally mislead the public to believe that smokefree tobacco/nicotine products are as hazardous as cigarettes, which encourages smokers to continue smoking cigarettes (instead of switching to less hazardous smokefree alternatives) and encourages smokefree users to switch to far more hazardous cigarettes. Smokers have a right to be truthfully informed about the comparable health risks of different tobacco/nicotine products, and public health agencies and professionals have an ethical duty to truthfully inform cigarette smokers about less hazardous smokefree alternatives."

That's a lot of food for thought. How do you weigh in? Research the info out there on smoking vs. smokeless tobacco and leave a comment here!

New N-O-T website for teens

The American Lung Association in Virginia is pleased to announce a new and exciting website for teens – http://www.vanot.org/. This is a great resource where teens can begin to find out how, and why, they should stay away from cigarettes. By exploring some of the posted hard facts and other useful links, young people are exposed to an abundance of valuable information. In addition to this, teens can find out what the Not On Tobacco program is all about and where it is being offered throughout the state. Check it out today!