Start feeling the heat!
           
Hillel's 2008 Professional Staff Conference will light up Baltimore around its theme, "Re-Igniting Relationships." Taking place from December 15-18 -- just a few days before Chanukah -- at the beautiful Inner Harbor Marriott, the conference will focus on how Hillel professionals can bring new light to their relationships with students, the community, the university, and one another. Online registration has begun and the early-bird deadline is Nov. 17.

This year's conference highlights include:

• An evening with keynote speaker Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks and author of It's Not About the Coffee: Leadership Principles from a Life at Starbucks;

• The Meyerhoff Yom Iyyun (Day of Learning), led by colleagues new and old, offers learning opportunities focused on a single contemporary topic;

• The new Peer-to-Peer Knowledge Exchange will connect professionals who have expertise in specific areas with those who want to learn.

• Career Day will focus on career development opportunities;

• The Richard M. Joel Professional Exemplar of Excellence Awards and Vision and Values Awards for Hillel groups (nominations now being accepted).

A team of 100 Hillel field and SIC professionals is planning the event, which is being chaired by Rabbi David Levy, adviser to the Colgate Jewish Union, and Renée Cohen Goodwin, director of Hillel at California State University, Northridge.

"We are trying to address the current needs and interests of Hillel professionals based on feedback from last year's event as well as on our conversations with colleagues throughout the field," explains Cohen Goodwin.

"This conference will reflect input from Hillels of all sizes, types and locations," says Levy.
           
Professionals are encouraged to submit proposals for General Educational Workshops, Master-Level Educational Workshops, and Promising Practices Roundtables to share their approaches with their Hillel colleagues during the conference. Proposals are due by Friday, November 7 at 4:30 p.m.

Career Day will allow managers looking to hire for 2009-10 the opportunity to meet, mentor and network with candidates. Candidates will be able to gain valuable connections through formal networking opportunities and to improve their interviewing skills through a workshop.

Hillel professionals are encouraged to nominate their colleagues for the Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence Award as well as to acknowledge their Hillel’s successes by nominating them for one or more of the four categories of the Vision and Values Awards. The nomination deadline is Nov. 14.

Hillel professionals are also encouraged to share their Hillel's history with colleagues by contributing memorabilia to a display of historical items that will be exhibited during the PSC. The display is part of Hillel's yearlong celebration of the organization's 85th anniversary. Hillel already has collected a Hillel pin that was given to Rabbi Joseph Topek upon his graduation from the University of Texas, Austin; brochures from campus events from the 1970s and 1980s; photographs dating to the 1920s; clothing items used to advertise Hillel events; even stuffed animals with Hillel logos.

To send items in advance of the conference, contact Jamie Silverstein, 202-449-6550. Memorabilia may be returned to participants after the PSC or loaned to Hillel for the anniversary year. For more on Hillel's 85th anniversary, visit Hillel's Web page.