Lauri Hughes: Melting the Ice in Your Heart

Brrrrrrrr........

It's mighty chilly back home this morning. I was checking in at http://www.kcrg.com/ and discovered those in Eastern Iowa are waking up to temperatures in the mid 20's. Good news is it will warm up into the 50's there today with no rain. It will be in the 50's in Vancouver today too. Although I don't know how much sunshine we'll have. It does seem a bit unique that it remains dark here after 7:00 a.m. The daylight is less here. That doesn't cause any delay in everyone waking up and embracing the learning each morning.

Our NCSPOD keynoter, Angaangaq "Uncle" Angaangap was very inspiring. Uncle was raised in Greenland and known to have a powerful - spiritual impact on those he meets/touches/connects with. Uncle spoke about our role in making a difference with all we encounter on earth: people, animals, the earth. The most inspiring words to me were the words his mother spoke to him; "You must melt the ice in your heart before you can gain knowledge and change." Wow....how powerful....and how true! He shared his voice with us in the most powerful and moving way. He shared a spiritual moment with my dear friend and VP of the Eastern Region, Santo Rizzo. Santo is still feeling the "power" of the experience. You may learn more at http://www.icewisdom.com/.

I attended a learning session on Emotional Intelligence that was filled with skits and theatrical performances to enhance the learning. I was delighted to see so many Midwest Regional members at the Midwest Regional Meeting. We shared GIFTS taking place at each college and I'll be sharing those, in greater detail, with our members in the months to come. We discussed the 2012 conference and I asked everyone to rank their top 3 of the following 5 items; airport hub, climate, hotel costs, meals included in registration fee, and tourism destination. Here's the top 3 list from the midwest members in attendance: airport hub, hotel costs, and climate. I'll be compiling the data from the other regional meetings and the board of directors will including the results as we consider a conference location in 2012. I spent time networking and getting to know many of our NCSPOD members. We are an incredible group of people! Last night 65 attendees enjoyed a dinner cruise around the harbor. The weather was a bit drizzly but the view was wonderful. I was seen leading our members in the chicken dance and YMCA. A good time was had by all!