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

To view this issue online, go to: http://www.ACRnet.org/publications/acrupdate.htm

OVERVIEW OF ARTICLES
February 2007

1. Member-Get-A-Member Campaign Keeps Going Strong!
2. Call for Article Proposals
3. ACR Marketing Teleseminar CDs Available
4. Sections Update: Upcoming Teleseminar
5. Save the Date: Upcoming Events
6. ACR Master Calendar
7. Quotations
8. PAID JOB ANNOUNCEMENT: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit

Member-Get-A-Member Campaign Keeps Going Strong!

More than 60 ACR members have recruited a new member to ACR since November and the numbers keep growing. Click here to see the ever-expanding list of ACR recruiters. 

Becoming an ACR recruiter is one of the best ways you can support your professional organization.  As our membership grows, ACR increases its ability to put on great conferences, distribute top-notch publications and provide our members with rewarding networking opportunities.

To show our appreciation, ACR recruiters are eligible for great prizes—including gift certificates and free registration to the 2007 Annual Conference in Phoenix!

Want to learn more?  Visit the Member-Get-A-Member website to read the rules of this year’s contest and find useful tips and application forms to help get you started.

Thank you for all your efforts to help ACR grow.  The greater our numbers, the stronger our voice.

ACR Marketing Teleseminar CDs Available

Each CD is just $12.00 for ACR Members ($18.00 per CD for non-ACR Members). All shipping charges are included. ACR members can order all three CDs for only $30 (shipping included for orders shipped to U.S. addresses). Ordering information is included below.

“Entrepreneurship for Neutrals” by V. Michelle Obradovic

In this interactive presentation, V. Michelle Obradovic speaks about the vast array of experiences that have gone into building her successful mediation practice. Michelle covers a variety of topics in this hour-long program, including: identifying your market, what to anticipate as you begin your practice, and the ups-and-downs of the entrepreneurial cycle.

“A Mediator’s Approach to Marketing” by Forrest Mosten and Diana Mercer

This hour-long program was originally presented as a teleseminar by Forrest Mosten and Diana Mercer on June 15, 2006. Listen as Forrest and Diana—both authors of articles in the Spring 2006 issue of ACResolution—discuss their time-tested methods of marketing, suggest strategies for building a successful mediation practice and share tips for attracting new clients.

“Ten Ways to Promote Your Mediation Practice Inexpensively, Ethically and With Dignity” by Bruce Blitman

In an hour-long teleseminar that aired on July 7, 2006, Bruce Blitman presents his top ten tips on marketing your mediation practice. Listen as Bruce shares anecdotes from the thousands of mediations he has conducted, recommends strategies and approaches to promoting your practice, and addresses questions submitted by listeners.

To Order Teleseminar CDs: Please download and fill out a product order form and mail or fax with payment information to: Association for Conflict Resolution, 1015 18^th St. NW, Suite 1150, Washington, DC 20036, or call the ACR office for assistance: 202-464-9700.

Don’t forget to check out ACR’s other store items, including books, reports, training videos and ACR merchandise: http://http://www.acrnet.org/library/catalogue.htm.

The Health Care Section will host a teleseminar on February 13, 2007.  The teleseminar is titled Medical-Legal Partnership – Integrating Preventative Law and Preventative Medicine and will be hosted by Lauren Smith, MD, MPH and Ellen Lawton, Esq.  This is free to members of the Healthcare Section. For more information on the Health Care Section please visit www.mediate.com/ACRhealthcare or contact sections [at] ACRnet [dot] org.

The Spirituality Section Presents - “Neutrality – What’s Love Got to Do with It? Presented by Marilyn Shannon February 14, 2007, 3p.m. Eastern/12:00noon Pacific. In his book the "True Power of Water" Dr. Masaru Emoto, Japanese renowned researcher and author hypothesizes that water collects information and the information we give water changes its quality. Since we as adults are approximately 75% water, what might that mean to the mediation process?  If everything is energy and if two things with the same frequency  resonate with each other (i.e. the parties in conflict), what happens when a new frequency is brought into the mix and that frequency is love?  Is it possible that the only way to actually get to neutral and stay neutral is with love?  Join the Spirituality Section for a heartfelt discussion on Valentines Day as we explore what love has to do with it.  For more information visit http://www.mediate.com/acrspirituality/

The Research, International and Education Sections are partnering with the Global Issues Resource Center, Office of Community Continuing Education to present the Inter-American Summit on Conflict Resolution Education on March 14-17, 2007.  Taking place in Cleveland, Ohio, this event will bring together government representatives from among the 50 states and 34 countries of the Americas and their non-governmental organization partners who have legislation or policies in place to deliver conflict resolution education at the K-12 level and in colleges of teacher education.

This first-ever Summit offers a dynamic opportunity to develop a hemispheric infrastructure throughout the Americas to advance the work in the fields of conflict resolution education and peace education. The Summit will bring together policymakers and educators representing regions across the United States and select member countries of the OAS representing North, Central, South America and the Caribbean. These national and international educators will exchange program best practices, evaluation methodology, creation of policy implementation structures and consideration of obstacles to success. This event offers a needed opportunity for college students, college faculty, university scholars, K-12 educators, public health officials, prevention specialists and state, local, and national policy makers in the Americas to convene in one location to learn more about the most current work being undertaken. For more information go to http://www.global-issues.org/about/Inter-American_Summit.php

Interested in participating in a teleconference? Send an email to sections [at] ACRnet [dot] 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.

ACR Chapters have been very busy!

Did you know that in the month of December alone, Chapters held a book discussion and potluck, a leadership teleconference, an annual conference and multiple holiday parties?  Activities took place all across the United States, from New York to Los Angeles, and everywhere in between.  Were you a part of these events?

Save the Dates!

The Minnesota Chapter will host a conference on March 2, 2007.  For more information, please visit www.ConflictResolutionMN.org.

The Northern California Chapter will host its 2007 Conference, “Reaching Common Ground: Global Perspective to Personal Practice,” on March 03, 2007.

The Keynote Speaker will be John Marks, president and founder of Search for Common Ground.  Using talk, video and music he will present on the Search for Common Ground approach to conflict resolution.  John will demonstrate how his work combines social entrepreneurship with a diverse toolbox that includes traditional techniques of mediation and facilitation, with less conventional ones like soap opera, community organizing and sports. He will explain how Search for Common Ground is applying peace-building techniques across entire countries in what he calls “societal conflict prevention.”

The networking lunch is followed by a wide range of workshops. Come learn how comics are being used to overcome language and literacy challenges internationally, the experience of an embedded mediator working with FEMA employees, online dispute resolution in the “world’s largest marketplace”, how communication style impacts collaboration, how to maintain your connection and compassion when mediating across differences and the use of body wisdom in mediation.

Information regarding sessions, costs and registration can be found at http://acteva.com/booking.cfm?binid=1&bevaID=127214

Information on the Northern California Chapter can be found at www.ACRNC.net

The Central California Chapter will host its Annual Conference, “Principles in Common: Diversity in Practice.”  The conference will take place on March 17, 2007 at the San Joaquin School of Law in Clovis, California.

Everyone is invited to join the Central California Chapter of ACR at their annual conference. Attending will be mediation and dispute resolution practitioners associated with ACR Sections including Workplace, Spirituality, Court, Education, Family, Environmental, Business and others. There will be 50 minute sessions which provide participants with information or training in a specific area of practice or that speak to broader issues that concern multiple areas of practice. More information will follow shortly.
Please visit http://www.mediate.com/ACRCentralCa or contact Diane Martin at 559-877-7610 or at dianemartin@netptc.net for more information.

The North Carolina Chapter will host a meeting and a training on April 25, 2007.  For more information, please visit www.mediate.com/ACRnorthcarolina.

The Virginia Chapter of ACR will host its 2007 conference in Fredericksburg, Virginia on May 6 and May 7, 2007.  The Chapter will celebrate its tenth anniversary as an organization with a conference that will offer valuable learning and networking opportunities.

Conference speakers include Marvin Johnson, Judy Ringer and Marcia Thompson. Marvin Johnson is a nationally recognized mediator, arbitrator and trainer with over 27 years of dispute resolution experience. He is the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution. Judy Ringer is a conflict skills trainer, communication coach and founder of Power and Presence Training. Marcia Thompson is an expert in large group facilitation with a background in family and collaborative law, juvenile justice, domestic relations and workplace issues.

This year’s conference lunch speaker will be Horatio Ray Lanier, President of the Association for Conflict Resolution.

More information will follow, but in the meantime, please visit http://www.mediate.com/ACRVirginia.

These events, along with several others, can be found on the ACR MASTER CALENDAR.

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