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by Jane Anderson
The Speaking Up For Us Annual Conference was on October 17 and 18, 2005 Augusta Civic Center. We had keynote speakers on both days; David Slep and John McGovern talked about how important it is to have friends and told their story about living and working in their community.
Tammy Mills and Roberta Gallant are from New Hampshire and they spoke about their activities as self advocates in New Hampshire. Tammy shared her dreams of being a paid public speaker, and Roberta shared her story of her dream to move out of an institution and being a part of a community, she made her dream come true.
We had workshops; I went to a workshop called ‘Directing Your Dreams’ where I learned about hiring and firing my own staff, I learned that if I am the boss I need to treat my staff nice.
I also went to a workshop and learned about making my Person Centered Plan.
Laura Antranigian and I were presenters at a workshop about love and relationships, a lot of people came. We showed people what they need to know to pick a good boyfriend or girlfriend. You have to get to know a person before you can trust them. We told people about red flags in relationships, red flags are things that mean ‘danger’.
Laura Antranigian and I were presenters at a workshop about love and relationships, a lot of people came. We showed people what they need to know to pick a good boyfriend or girlfriend. You have to get to know a person before you can trust them. We told people about red flags in relationships, red flags are things that mean ‘danger’.
Regional meetings were held and each region elected new board officers, and a Marcia Rosen award winner for doing a lot in self advocacy.
Everyone dressed up for a yummy banquet dinner, and award were passed out.
Speaking Up For Us advisor Gayna Cook cannot get the Paige Barton award because she works for us, so we gave her a special award for going above and beyond the duties of her job. We wanted to thank her for all the work she does.
We had fun at a dance in our Pajamas; the conference was about dreams, after all. The DJs judged the silliest and wildest PJs, and gave prizes for them.
The second day, the board members met for breakfast and elected new officers. After the workshops the board was introduced to everyone before lunch, we had lunch and said our goodbyes for another year.
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