Royal Toy
President of the National Conference of Governor's Schools
Friends,
This past week we held a Hybrid conference due to the restrictions on travel associated with COVID-19, natural disasters, and the ever present challenges with funding we all face. The conference was different this year as we spent time looking at the changing world and the trends that have caused our great organization challenges and opportunities. I want to personally thank all those who took risks this year in hosting, presenting, attending, traveling, and in lending important voices to the conference.
For those of you who were not able to participate this year, I would like to invite you to join your voices to ours and help us continue to improve NCoGS as well as continue to shape the future of the organization. Our organization is small. Our programs are different. Our funding may be secure, uncertain, or non-existent. Our staff sizes vary, and their experience or expertise come from many different areas. These challenges and differences provide us an opportunity to shape the future with broad perspective rather than walk a razor thin line.
One of the desires that is often expressed is for the collaboration across programs, states, and the nation. We want to continue that collaboration and encourage you and your individual programs to ask for support as well as the opportunity to share in supporting others. To this end, I would like to let you all know that we are committed to better communication as an organization, and making “value-added” opportunities more visible.
Finally, I would ask for your continued support of this great organization. If you have already paid dues for the 2020-2021 year, thank you. If you have not paid dues, please do so. The amount is small and the potential for benefit is great. I believe that NCoGS purposefully charges a small amount for dues so that monies can be put to use forth benefit of the scholars. If you would like a voice in shaping the future beyond your program, this is a good place to do so.
On a personal note as part of my invitation, I have spent thousands of dollars in memberships, attended hundreds of conferences, and still feel like my voice or concerns in many other organizations has never been heard. Here with NCoGS I find a caring collective of individuals who are supportive and wiling to lift me up, share in my successes… and my failures. I look forward to these types of communication and interactions with you.
This past week we held a Hybrid conference due to the restrictions on travel associated with COVID-19, natural disasters, and the ever present challenges with funding we all face. The conference was different this year as we spent time looking at the changing world and the trends that have caused our great organization challenges and opportunities. I want to personally thank all those who took risks this year in hosting, presenting, attending, traveling, and in lending important voices to the conference.
For those of you who were not able to participate this year, I would like to invite you to join your voices to ours and help us continue to improve NCoGS as well as continue to shape the future of the organization. Our organization is small. Our programs are different. Our funding may be secure, uncertain, or non-existent. Our staff sizes vary, and their experience or expertise come from many different areas. These challenges and differences provide us an opportunity to shape the future with broad perspective rather than walk a razor thin line.
One of the desires that is often expressed is for the collaboration across programs, states, and the nation. We want to continue that collaboration and encourage you and your individual programs to ask for support as well as the opportunity to share in supporting others. To this end, I would like to let you all know that we are committed to better communication as an organization, and making “value-added” opportunities more visible.
Finally, I would ask for your continued support of this great organization. If you have already paid dues for the 2020-2021 year, thank you. If you have not paid dues, please do so. The amount is small and the potential for benefit is great. I believe that NCoGS purposefully charges a small amount for dues so that monies can be put to use forth benefit of the scholars. If you would like a voice in shaping the future beyond your program, this is a good place to do so.
On a personal note as part of my invitation, I have spent thousands of dollars in memberships, attended hundreds of conferences, and still feel like my voice or concerns in many other organizations has never been heard. Here with NCoGS I find a caring collective of individuals who are supportive and wiling to lift me up, share in my successes… and my failures. I look forward to these types of communication and interactions with you.