AWSDA’s Blog

Instructor proposals for the 2008 Conference in Greenville, SC are being gathered. If you are interested in being an instructor, please submit your bio, and instructor application (from the website) soon. The deadline is April 30th!! Time goes fast…Seems like we have lots of time to think about it, and then the deadline is here.

We are taking proposals for beginning, intermediate and advanced classes, lecture and hands on. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Please email your applications to Susan Baldwin.

Conference At a Glance…

Friday, August 1, 2008
6pm –8 pm Early Registration, recommend that you take advantage.

Saturday, August 2, 2008
7:30 am – 8:30 am Registration for RPI Course Participants
8 am – 5 pm Bonus day for all vendors who want to exhibit.
8:30 am – 6 pm AWSDA Rape Prevention Instructor Certification Course
3 pm – 5 pm Registration
7:30 pm – 11 pm Camaraderie & Networking in the AWSDA Hospitality Ste

Sunday, August 3, 2008
7:15 am – 8 am Registration
8 am – 9 am Welcoming Session
9 am – 10 am Morning Snack in Vendor Area
9 am – 5 pm Vendor Exhibitions
10 am – 6 pm TRAINING, It is a 3 - 4 track training conference, which means at any
give time there will be between 3 or 4 classes running at the same time during training hours. Each class is 2-hours long. There will be a mixture of hands-on and lecture type classes, plus live fire firearms training.
12 pm – 1:30 pm Lunch on Own
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Casual Buffet Dinner AWSDA subsidized & Membership Meeting
9:30 pm – 11 pm Camaraderie & Networking in the AWSDA Hospitality Ste

Monday, August 4, 2008
7:30 am – 8 am Registration
7:30 am – 5 pm Vendor Exhibitions, LAST DAY for Vendors
8 am – 3:30 pm TRAINING
12:30pm – 1:30pm Buffet Lunch AWSDA subsidized –cool! Regional Rep meeting
3:30 pm – 5 pm Coffee & Tea Break in Vendor Area, Last Chance to Shop
7:30 pm – 11 pm Camaraderie & Networking in the AWSDA Hospitality Ste

Tuesday, August 5, 2008
9:30 am – 10 am Registration
10 am – 6 pm TRAINING
12 pm – 1:30 pm Lunch On Own
3:30 pm – 5 pm Snack Break in AWSDA Registration Area
7 pm – 11 pm An AWESOME Banquet & Closing Party

Remember, August 2nd is our 8-hour Rape Prevention Instructor’s Certification Class. Only a limited number of spaces available!

Join us for the 17th Annual AWSDA Conference
August 2-5, 2008
Greenville, SC
You can get more information on the AWSDA website: www.awsda.org
You can also now book your hotel room from the AWSDA website.  Registration is available, don’t miss the earlybird special!
It promises to be bigger and better than ever!  Register soon for the early bird discount.

Hope to see all you there!! Don’t miss out!

The AWSDA conference in Mesa Arizona was a success. The classes were terrific and the participants shared they came away with lots of new skills, perspectives and enthusiasm. We were smaller in number than usual due to the later start on organizing this conference, but we already have the dates and place for next year.

News from this years Conference:
1. Biggest news…AWSDA has an official name change…we are now..Association for Women’s Self Defense Advancement as voted on by the members.

2. New board members…Illsa vonLeden and Albert Ortiz, Susan Baldwin was appointed by the board, ran for this term and remains on the board for 3 years. All terms are 3 years.

3. Regional Representatives are doing a great job. They are really supporting the promotion of AWSDA and stepping forward in many situations to help with various aspects of the running the organization. More RR are needed!!

4. Check out the new and improved website!! awsda.org Our new webmaster, Cristina Eriksson is doing a fabulous job. We are online and functional now, but still adding many more areas to the site. All members can now log in to their own members section, change and update all your information, list yourself, register for seminars, apply online, become a vendor or sponsor, and soon you will be able to pay online totally. The Fisted Rose will be available online as a PDF download or to be read online. It’s all very exciting, so check it out!

5. The E-Update…I work to get the latest news and updates from AWSDA out to all the members about once a month to every 6 weeks. We are working to keep you informed. We need your help too…correspond with us, tell us what you need, and offer to help. We all want to see AWSDA grow and expand, especially now with a more world wide presence.

6. Help needed—more regional reps…folks to write or submit articles for the Fisted Rose. These 2 areas we really need some help! Remember this is your organization..help make it better, help us to reach  more women.

It is almost the beginning of October and you have 1 month left before the seminar. You now can see the schedule of instructors, exciting event! Get your registrations in, book your room. As always we are looking forward to another exciting event. This year we have member voting taking place. 3 Board members will need to be voted in and also we need your votes on the AWSDA name change to reflect our international flavor!

You are AWSDA, join in for the fun, the learning and the camaraderie as well as making a difference by voting.

Hope to see you all there!!