Illinois Athletic Trainers Association

Region 4 Newsletter

March 2008

Dear Region Four Member,

March is National Athletic Training Month!  This year’s theme is “Who’s taking care of your kids?”  As is usual, members from all over the state will take part during the month in order to showcase athletic training where they live, and promote their profession.  For some ideas on how to get involved, visit www.nata.org.  In Region Four, contact Dustin Fink, MS, ATC, at dfink@dmhhs.org to report your activity.

The IATA Board of Directors met on February 10, 2008, at the Kaufman Football Building at Illinois State University.  Thirty-two students from ISU, WIU, EIU, NIU, and Millikin attended in order to experience professional involvement.  It was a very exciting time!  This is a very busy and exciting time for athletic trainers in Illinois, and it is very important that all of our membership is involved.

PAC Raffle time is here again.  This is the major source of funding for the IATA Political Action Campaign.  This is an easy way for you to get involved, as well as give yourself a chance to win some money in the process.  It is critical that we stay involved in the political process at this time in our profession, and the raffle, along with contacting your legislators, is the easiest way for you to do this.  This year, free registration for the state meeting will go to the member who sells the most tickets, so involve your family, friends, and coworkers!

The State Meeting this year will be held November 8-9, 2007, at the Hilton Lisle in Suburban Chicago.  A special thanks goes out to all of you who made last November’s meeting in Springfield such a success.   Central and Southern Illinois was well represented in volunteers, speakers, and meeting attendees.  Best of luck to North Central College as they compete in the GLATA College Bowl, and congratulations to Hall of Fame inductees Steve McInerney, Rochelle Rittgers, and Phil Voorhis.  Their contributions to the profession have been tireless over the years. 

The IATA is seeking membership from Region Four for its Secondary Schools Committee.  This committee, now headed by Emily Whitson, ewhitson@hopedalemc.com, will look at initiatives for all issues affecting the practice of athletic trainers in the high school setting.  Please contact myself or Emily if you are interested.

The IATA archives will be permanently housed in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield!  A special thanks to Rich Carey and his committee for making this project a HUGE success.  The IATA is the first athletic training organization to have its archives housed in a presidential library.  The dedication will be held Tuesday, March 11, in Springfield. 

The Annual IATA Golf Outing will be held June 30, 2008, at Broken Arrow Golf Course in Lockport, IL.  Make your plans now to support this fun and exciting event.

Development Director Bill Durand is seeking sponsorships for the Golf Outing and for the IATA Organization.  Please contact him if you, your colleagues, or your employer may be interested.

Congratulations to Region Four Member Kristen Streeter for her appointment to the GLATA Executive Council as Illinois Representative.  Kristen has served the IATA very well for the past four years, and we should all be excited for her continued involvement in her new capacity.

This is a great time to be an athletic trainer in the state of Illinois!  Stay involved! 

Please feel free to contact me at anytime with questions or concerns at estreeter@millikin.edu.

Best Wishes,

Eric

Eric Streeter MS, ATC