October 20, 2014 training committee meeting.

The Training Committee has been working hard on a concerted push to improve and solidify the Basic Training program.  We have always tweaked and improved as we deliver training classes but for this next class, we have worked out a concrete start on unclear Policy issues, Curriculum concerns, Evaluation improvements, Assessment approach and overall Committee structure.  Our next step will be to develop the class and field trips for Spring 2015 while we continue to hone and improve the above aspects of training.

Starting in April of 2015, our class will be weekly from 1pm – 4pm (timing may prove to be slightly shorter because we are not feeding trainees this go-round) on Thursdays.  It will continue in the same format of a Spring Session for two months with a summer break and then the concluding session in the Fall for two months.  Because of the shift to a calendar year format we will be able to finish up training in seven months instead of nine.

We are indeed still recruiting.  We have reached out to the Headwaters Board for assistance on this and hope the Executive Committee can come up with a strategic plan for a recruitment push.  Currently we have 14 interested but that is not a big enough buffer to hold for another five months.

Recruiting talent from our last Basic Training cohort has emerged and she has done an amazing job of making contacts with interested and interesting people.  When Janet James accompanied her husband Tom Benzing to the Annual Pure Water Forum meeting in Luray last month, she did a tabling there for Headwaters and recruited four potentials.  She shared with me how exciting it was to talk to them about Headwaters and how interested they were in us.  A few more have come in to us from Adrie’s amazing outreach efforts but we need something more solid and reliable.

It is looking good and we are energized and encouraged!  If you know of anyone you think would be a good candidate, send them our way – any Training Committee member would be happy to get the reference.

Contact: headwatersmn.info[at]gmail.com

We are:

RoxAnna Theiss, Chair
Eric Jones, Curriculum
Judy Tammi, Chip Brown and Carl Droms, Assessments
Gail Napora, Evaluations
Margaret Speicher, Policy
Jerry Hopkins, ex officio and Policy

– RoxAnna, November 2014