Happy Summer!

Welcome to information about the 2017 Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) Leadership Conference, Saturday, August 26th - Sunday, August 27th, at The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State College. We are very excited to be back at this beautiful location once again!

The Leadership Conference committee has completed the session descriptions and schedule of activities for the weekend. We hope that you will find this weekend to be beneficial on both a personal and professional level. We are looking forward to seeing all of our programs in attendance.

Saturday, August 26th - Sunday, August 27th – Leadership Conference Dates & Program Hotel Reservations:

Full Conference Rates: Double – $165.00 per person / Single $225.00

• Reservations must be made by July 19th to ensure room availability.
• Please contact your manager for hotel reservation information.
• Any athlete who is attending Athlete Leadership University and/or the Leadership Conference is expected to strictly adhere to Special Olympics Pennsylvania’s Housing Policy. For more information, you can refer to: http://specialolympicspa.org/images/site_pages/SOPA_HOUSING_POLICY_-_APPROVED_Feb_23_2013.pdf

The week of July 10th, everyone who has reserved a hotel room will receive an email with information about Conference session selection & meals.

No Hotel Stay / 1 Day Conference

• If you are not planning on staying overnight at The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center, please contact Carolyn at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will send your conference session & meal registration/pricing information directly.
• Pricing will be available in the following categories for 1 day attendees:
  • Saturday Conference and all meals - $75
  • Sunday Conference and all meals - $40
  • Full Weekend, No Hotel - $115

Friday, August 25th – Room Reservations

New Manager Training:

• If you have been invited to New Manager Training, please extend your reservation to Friday, August 25th.
• New Managers participating in the Friday training will not be billed for a Friday night stay.

Athlete Leadership University:

• If your program plans to have athletes attend Athlete Leadership University (Introductory Global Messenger and/or Introductory Athlete Representative), they should register via the Google Form sent by Jordan Schubert. Room reservations for Friday ONLY at Athlete Leadership University will be made by Jordan Schubert and Chelsea Drob.
  • Please Note: If an Athlete and/or Mentor chooses to stay at the Leadership Conference for Saturday, the hotel reservations must be made by the program

Early Conference Arrival:

• We welcome anyone to come into town early to spent time in the area as the summer comes to a close. Information on other fun activities can be found at: http://www.visitpennstate.org/
  • Please Note: SOPA will not have any formal events or meals on Friday the 25th unless you are a part of New Manager Training or Athlete Leadership University.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you & have a great summer!

Carolyn Kushner, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

610-630-9450 X-217

2016 Leadership Conference Session Materials:

LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE OPENING:

• CEO Opening Session

BUILD POSITIVE ATTITUDES:

• How to Communicate with Our Athletes Through Social Media
• Public Relations "How To Guide"

Handouts:

• Social Media How-To Guide

IMPROVE ATHLETE PERFORMANCE:

• Sports Programming & Coaches Education
• The Expansion of Unified Sports
• Improve Athlete Performance

Handouts:

• Coaches Education Handout

BUILD CAPACITY:

• Managing the Background Clearance Process
• A Meaningful Experience for Athlete Leaders
• The Support of the Finance Dept.
• Budgeting & How To Raise Funds (Link)
  
• Vsys Q & A
• Volunteer Management
• Your Program and their Financial Future

 Handouts:

• Lists in Vsys
• SOPA Master Sales Deck