WELCOME TO ACR UPDATE—the monthly e-newsletter sharing important conflict resolution news and organizational updates with ACR members. Your feedback is welcome!

Printer-friendly version

OVERVIEW OF ARTICLES
January 9, 2006

1. ACR's Sixth Annual Conference: Call for Proposals Open Until January 9; Philadelphia Here We Come!

2. ACR Solicits Member Comments on Revised Uniform Arbitration Act (RUAA)

3. Membership News: Job Bank to become full-service CareerCenter; Special Membership Offer

4. Section News: Environment and Public Policy, Family, Spirituality and Workplace Sections

5. Chapter News

6. Quotations

7. Message from our Sponsor: Mediate.com

2006 Annual Conference Proposals Accepted Online Until January 15, 2006

ACR requests proposals for its Sixth Annual Conference, to be held October 25-28, 2006 in Philadelphia, PA. Online submission of proposals for workshops began December 1, 2005, and closes January 15, 2006.  Please visit our website at http://www.ACRnet.org/conferences/ac06/index.htm to submit your proposal! 

Philadelphia Here We Come!

We in the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter are delighted to be the hosts for ACR’s 2006 Annual Conference, between October 25 and 28, in Philadelphia. As residents of this historic and exciting region, we know that all attendees can anticipate a fun-filled as well as educational visit, and we want to do everything possible to ensure this outcome.

Toward this end, via ACR Update, we will provide all Annual Conference participants with the information they will need to maximize their Philadelphia experience in whatever time they will have available for it. We can’t emphasize enough the importance of everyone doing their own planning before they arrive because there is so much to do and so little time in which to do it—even if you decide to extend your trip at either or both ends of the Annual Conference.  Furthermore, many of the most popular attractions require advance reservations (and in the case of our best restaurants, these reservations should be made many weeks in advance).

In subsequent issues of ACR Update leading up to the Annual Conference, we will write about many different aspects of the city and its surrounding region, focusing on the likely interests of attendees and our hope that they will bring their family members and friends. We will briefly highlight a wide range of topics, including:

• Philadelphia’s key role in American and world history (and how you can re-live some of it today);

• Our many world-renowned entertainment and sports venues;

• Different sightseeing and tour opportunities for both the city and region, including how to “do it yourself,” because Philly is one of the most walkable cities in the world;

• Our many outstanding dining and drinking establishments;

• Shopping for bargains and for that one-of-a-kind upscale item you simply must bring home;

• Unique Philadelphia experiences like the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the National Constitution Center, Reading Terminal Market and the Mummers Museum and regional ones such as the Winterthur Museum and Gardens, Longwood Gardens and Valley Forge National Historic Park;

• Our many other world-class museums; and

• How to get around easily and safely from the central location of the Annual Conference hotel.

Please let us know, at phillyin06@verizon.net, what you would like to see in this column and what else we can do to enhance your visit to the city that has been variously called the “City of Brotherly Love,” the “Place that Loves You Back,” the “City that W.C. Fields Loved to Bad Mouth”, and (most recently) “America’s Next Great City.” We look forward to welcoming you to Philadelphia and ACR’s Sixth Annual Conference in October!

ACR requests proposals for its Sixth Annual Conference, to be held October 25-28, 2006 in Philadelphia, PA. Online submission of proposals for workshops begins December 1, 2005, and closes January 15, 2006.  Please visit our website http://www.ACRnet.org/conferences/ac06/index.htm for further information and instructions! 

ACR’s Legislative and Public Policy (LPP) Committee considers endorsement of uniform acts and dispute resolution policy developments and makes recommendations to the ACR Board of Directors. For example, the LPP Committee and the ACR Board have conditionally endorsed the Uniform Mediation Act and have recently endorsed the revised Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators. ACR does not lobby, but has significant weight in the policy arena at the federal and state level.

ACR’s LPP Committee has initiated a legislative review of the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act (RUAA), which was drafted and adopted in 2000 to update the Uniform Arbitration Act (UAA) of 1956. The RUAA is now being considered at the state level.

A LPP Committee proposal regarding ACR and the RUAA may be viewed or downloaded on the ACR website at http://www.ACRnet.org/about/initiatives/publicpolicy/index.htm. The LPP Committee is conducting a comment period on this proposal for ACR members through February 1, 2006. All ACR members are invited to contribute opinions and suggestions. Please email your comments to ACR Program Manager Jennifer Druliner at jdruliner@ACRnet.org by February 1, 2006.

• Online Discussion Forums/ Message Board

• Access to the full Membership Directory

• Reduced Rates on Professional Liability Insurance

• ACR Job Bank

• CRQ Online: Access ACR's academic Journal online anytime

• 20% off Purchases from BNA Books and Jossey-Bass publications

• Discounts on Medical Insurance, Hertz Car Rental and buymagazines.com

• and much more...

Environment and Public Policy Section Conference: June 28–30, 2006 in Boston!

Please save the date and spread the word:  ACR’s Environment and Public Policy Section will hold a conference June 28-30, 2006 in Boston.  As always, the conference promises to be “more fun than thought humanly possible.” Plan to join us in Boston!

Family Section Update

Proposals Sought for Family Section Conference

The Family Section’s conference committee is seeking workshop proposals for Making Waves -- Breaking Barriers to be held July 13-16, 2006 on Cape Cod. The due date for proposals is January 9th and they should be emailed to kolman.3@osu.net. For more information and a submission form, go to http://www.mediate.com/ACRFamily/docs//Cape%20Cod%20Workshop%20Proposal%20Form.doc.

New Mediation Brochures Available Soon

The Family Section’s membership committee is developing two mediation brochures. One targets consumers and the other targets referral sources. The brochures, which will be customizable, will be available to members soon. Watch for an announcement.

Join a Family Section Committee!

The Family Section committees provide a great place for members to network, learn more about the field and even, sometimes, identify sources for business. Those who join also help the Family Section remain vital and helpful to its members. Please consider joining one of the Committees. Check the Family Section website at http://www.mediate.com/acrfamily/pg6.cfm.

Spirituality Section’s Writers’ Teleconference Forum begins January 19

The Spirituality Section’s Writers’ Teleconference Forum kicks off on January 19, 2006 with a teleconference on “Mindfulness, Deep Listening and Stories: The Spiritual Core of Peacemaking” presented by Dr. Mark Umbreit  (3:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. PCT). Dr. Umbreit is a Professor and the founding Director for the Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking at the University of Minnesota, School of Social Work and is the Boden Chair Visiting Scholar at Marquette University Law School. He is a mediator, facilitator, trainer, researcher and author of six books. For information on how to participate in this teleconference please visit http://www.mediate.com/acrspirituality/pg28.cfm.

Workplace Section Update

ACR Workplace Section Seeks “Labor and Employment Arbitrators” to Apply for Advanced Practitioner Status

The Workplace Section of ACR has launched an “Advanced Practitioner” membership category for labor and employment arbitrators. The objective is to offer a new community of peers for the most senior workplace arbitrators in the nation. There is no current professional organization for employment arbitrators. There are many tangible benefits to becoming an arbitrator AP, including networking, case consultation, legislative policy review, and practice development.

Membership is open to labor arbitrators, employment arbitrators, or those with a mixed practice. A specified number and mix of countable cases is required for application. There is no degree requirement. The standards of membership and the application form are available on the ACR website. ACR membership is required, but can be obtained in the application process.

For more information on applying to become a labor and employment arbitrator AP member, visit the ACR website at: http://www.ACRnet.org/referrals/ap-workplace_arb.htm. If you are an active labor or employment arbitrator, apply now!

ACR Workplace is selling CDs for the following teleseminars: “Violence in the Workplace: A New Way to Recognize Potential Explosions and Effectively Intervene” and “Extreme Facilitation.”

Please check the Workplace Section’s website for details on purchasing CDs of the teleseminars “Violence in the Workplace: A New Way to Recognize Potential Explosions and Effectively Intervene” and “Extreme Facilitation.”

SAVE THE DATE: The New England Chapter of the Association for Conflict Resolution (NE-ACR) is pleased to announce that its Winter Member Meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, February 16, 2006, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Suffolk University Law School, located at 120 Tremont Street in downtown Boston.  To learn more about or to join NE-ACR, or to register for this meeting, please visit www.neacr.org.  If you have any questions, please contact Mindy Milberg (milberg@milbergmediation.com, 508-655-6800) or Diane Levin (neacrevents@partneringsolutions.org, 781-631-3990).

Interested in participating in a teleconference? Send an email to sections at ACRnet.org to receive dial-in instructions.

Please note: most Section teleconferences are a Section member benefit. To join a Section, log in to ACR’s Online Member Center, click on “My Account History,” then “Add Sections,” and select the Sections you want to add.

6. Quotations

Celebrate Mediate.com's 10th Anniversary

• 25% off DVD's.
• Dynamic Web Site Package (everything you need) for only $49.95/mo (no install fee) or $499.95/year.
  Take care of your New Year's Resolution to get your web site together!  Let us help!
• Get the right people to your web site with MediatorDirect Area Code Placements & Statewide Listings
• Contact admin@mediate.com; or call 541 345 1629

SPECIAL ONLINE OFFER!

Log in to the Online Member Center and renew your membership online and you will automatically be entered to win

TWO FREE MONTHS OF MEMBERSHIP!

Make your dues go farther!
Renewing online saves ACR resources!

One Drawing Every Month!

THIS AD COULD BE YOURS!
Reach 6,300+ conflict resolution enthusiasts with your advertising message. A 10-line, 100-word, text ad costs just $150! For more information, contact ACR at acr at ACRnet.org.