The 2017 Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) Leadership Conference will be held on Saturday, August 26th and Sunday, August 27th at The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State College. 

The Conference is the one occasion each year when all of our key leaders – Board, staff, and volunteers – can gather together to network, share ideas, and learn from each other as we all strive to do more and better for our athletes.  It is important to take advantage of this unique opportunity to collaborate that our staff team works for months developing the agenda, reviewing and incorporating local Program feedback from prior years, and preparing for sessions to ensure the weekend is beneficial for everyone. 

We are looking forward to SOPA department Q&A meetings, updates on athlete initiatives, gatherings on goal setting, information on both volunteer and athlete recruitment, and of course networking and socializing with other programs. SOPA has also developed specific athlete sessions at the Leadership Conference for athletes to attend, so please include them within your planning. Lastly, our Athlete Leadership University Graduation Ceremony, Hall of Fame Celebration, and Leadership Awards will all be held during the Banquet. We hope that you will find this weekend to be both beneficial on a personal and professional level, and are looking forward to seeing all of our programs in attendance.

To help support local Program participation in the Conference, we are again offering one free (double occupancy) registration package to every local Program.  This can be used by the Program Manager or someone that he/she designates to represent their Program. 

We are making some changes to the registration process this year to address some of the issues and concerns raised in prior years and make it better and more efficient for everyone.   One of the key changes will be that Programs will be making hotel reservations directly with the Penn Stater this year. 

We are asking that either the manager call in room needs for the whole team or that one designated person makes reservations for the team.  Full Conference Rates: Double - $165.00 / Single $225. Please contact your program manager if you are interested in attending the Leadership Conference.

Once we receive notification of your hotel reservations from The Penn Stater Hotel, we will send you conference session & meal registration information for your attendees. Hotel Registration for the SOPA Leadership Conference is open from now -July 19th.

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