“ Learning to Lead in a Challenging World “
EARCOS Administrators’ Conference 2008 - Theme: “Learning to Lead in a Challenging World”
“Learning to Lead in a Challenging World” was the theme for the 40th EARCOS Administrators’ Conference (EAC) just held on North Borneo in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The EAC hosted nearly 800 delegates from various regions of the world. The 40th EAC had three excellent keynote presenters in Alan November, John Joesph, and William Lishman, 11 preconferences, and 119 workshop sessions all geared to meet our administrators’ and boards of trustees’ needs. We had nealy 800 delegates attend so it was EARCOS’s largest administrative conference to date. The sessions for board members was very successful, and Ralph Davison did an excellent job engaging a diverse group of trustees. Feedback from our zoomerang was very positive. The Sutera Harbour in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, was an exciting venue for EARCOS’s 40th conference. The evening functions took place in lovely setting and had great food and super entertainment. I’d like to thank the general manager, Mr. Ravi Kathiravelu, Jocelyn Untasan (our conference operation guru), and the whole Sutera staff for their generous hospitlity. We will return to Sabah again. The conference gift was a pedometer promoting a good healthy life style in our EARCOS community. We thank Gopher sport and Matt Nelson for co-sharing this memento. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) led by Tim Carr, our EARCOS president, was very informative. Two new board members were elected: Deidre Fischer of International School Cebu; Brent Mutsch of Singapore American School; and David Toze of International School Manila was reelected for another 3-year term. The board also highlighted the EARCOS Strategic Plan and reviewed the organization’s financial summary. David Cramer was recognized for his contribution to the board as treasurer. Linda Sills was also recognized for her efforts and leadership during the last four years. EARCOS extends a special thanks to the Malaysian Tourism Bureau and Mr. Mohd Akbal Setia for providing a cultural show that was truly spectacular and memorable. Through music and dance, their efforts to make the EARCOS community feel welcome were truly apparent and very successful. Sabah Tourism Board Chairman Datuk Tengku Adlin provided a brief welcome and slide show presentation of the interesting sites of Sabah. We are already looking forward to returning in March for the Teachers’ Conference and continuing to build our community of learners. A big thanks to Dan Scinto who has always been a great supporter of EARCOS. We wish him the best in his retirement. Thanks to our sponsors for the keynoters’, coffee breaks and to our exhibitors who support EARCOS each year. Finally our EARCOS team of Linda Sills, Vitz Baltero, Elaine Repatacado, Brigette Ann Javier, Ver Castro, Edzel Drilo and Robert Viray did an outstanding job with logistics and hospitality. Dick Krajczar and the EARCOS team.
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