Indiana AHEAD

Indiana AHEAD is comprised of folks in the state (and some from surrounding states) who work with students with disabilities in some capacity. Some of us work in disability services offices, some in adaptive computer labs, and some wear many hats on campus. We have a fall and a spring meeting at beautiful Bradford Woods in Martinsville. For more than twenty-five years the group has served to form a very helpful network among folks involved with the provision of services to students with disabilities.

Indiana AHEAD Bylaws

We the Disability Service Providers of postsecondary educational institutions of Indiana and surrounding states, desiring to provide ongoing training and support for participants, do ordain and establish these bylaws for Indiana AHEAD, that we may enhance education for disability service providers and services to students with disabilities.

This organization of disability service providers shall be called Indiana AHEAD (Association for Higher Education and Disability).

Section I
The purpose of Indiana AHEAD is to provide training and support to disability service providers with special regard to postsecondary education. Indiana AHEAD will provide training, fellowship, leadership, and support to its members.

Section II
There shall be biannual meetings with members to provide training and education programs, and conduct conference evaluations for review by officers.

Section III
All business meetings of Indiana AHEAD shall be conducted according to Robert's Rule of Order.

Membership in Indiana AHEAD shall consist of disability service providers in postsecondary education and the community.

Section I
Indiana AHEAD members shall elect officers from its membership during the Spring business meeting: a President Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Historian. These officers shall assume office immediately upon their election and shall serve until their successors are elected. Other officer positions may be created to fulfill unmet needs as perceived by the membership.

Section II - President
The President shall secure speakers for biannual conferences, prepare conference and business-meeting agendas, preside over conferences and business meetings, and appoint committees as necessary to carry out business. The President shall display impartiality and cast no vote except in the event of a tie.

Section III - President Elect
The President Elect shall support the President in his/her duties. The President Elect shall a serve a term of one year. Following the spring election, will assume the duties of President.

Section IV - Secretary
The Secretary shall prepare registration packets for conferences, take minutes for each business meeting, prepare meeting minutes, prepare conference evaluation form, keep a file of all meeting minutes, and conduct necessary correspondence.

Section V - Treasurer
The Treasurer shall pay bills and maintain fiscal records.

Section VI - Historian
The Historian shall maintain a record of biannual conference events. Said record shall consist of copies of materials distributed to the membership in the registration packets (i.e. agenda, menu, description of sessions, names of presenters), copies of session handouts, a roster of conference attendees, and minutes of the business meeting. The Historian shall also prepare, disseminate, collect, and collate data from conference evaluation forms to be included in said record.

Elected Officers may be removed from the Board, with cause, by a vote held in a manner consistent with that established for election of Officers.

In the event of dissolution of the state organization, the treasury will be submitted to AHEAD.

Upcoming Events

October 23 & 24, 2008 at Bradford Woods in Martinsville

• TBA

For more information about the conference, contact IN-AHEAD President.

History

An Historic Hoosier Perspective

Indiana AHEAD can actually boast of an origin that precedes the beginnings of national AHEAD, or AHSSPPE, as it was called then. Sometime in the mid 1970's, three Hoosiers (Betty Nelson of Purdue University, Don Wakefield of Indiana University Purdue University, and Richard Harris of Ball State) got together informally to talk shop and share professional expertise. They invited others to join them and after a time began to call themselves a state group and hold regular meetings. As happens often in DSS work, good ideas are contagious and a national organization soon followed.

Sam Goodin, then coordinating disability services at Indiana University Bloomington, brought the group to its current meeting site of Bradford Woods, a facility owned by Indiana University. "The Woods," (http://www.bradwoods.org) located near Martinsville, Indiana, has provided recreational, educational, and leadership development opportunities to youth and adults for over 50 years. Situated within a large acreage of wooded, green hills in south-central Indiana, the Manor House of The Woods has been our meeting home for over 20 years. In the early years, the Manor was used largely as it had originally been built and was a bit primitive by today's standards. Attendees of state meetings brought their own bath towels and bedding. Each of the two lodging floors contained only one bath facility necessitating that women be consigned to one floor and men to another. Nor was it very accessible. At the first meeting to be attended by a someone who used a wheelchair, a makeshift accessible sleeping room had to be created near the vending machines. Its one virtue was being conveniently near the ice maker.

Like early DSS work, to be fully appreciated and enjoyed, the Manor required an open and pioneering spirit. We like to think it contributed to the development of the best sort of DSS professionals: hearty, versatile, creative, sharing, full of character, and focused clearly on important things – like what's for dinner. For years, we did our own cooking for the Thursday evening meal. In good weather we hiked to the lake and built a roaring bonfire on the beach while distinguished members such as Richard Harris and Sam Goodin grilled fabulous steaks and told great stories. Cooking techniques, in common with the field of DSS, evolved over the years. The inaugural cookout used a Buffalo Trough, an open pit of coals onto which steaks were tossed. Time and experience brought more sophisticated efforts utilizing Dale's Steak Marinade and a serviceable, if primitive, grill of glowing charcoal.

To make it accessible, the Manor underwent a several years' long renovation in the mid 1990's so Indiana AHEAD, forced to go elsewhere, went down the road apiece to an Episcopalian retreat named Waycross located near the towns of Trevlac and Bean Blossom. Fully accessible and comfortable, it is a lovely facility but we were nevertheless happy to return to the newly renovated Bradford Woods.

Our meetings, held twice a year, begin at 1:00 on a Thursday afternoon and conclude at noon the following day. We offer a wide variety of programming to promote professional development for attendees who come from Indiana and the neighboring states of Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois. At least one meeting a year is attended by the Director and management team of Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services who update us on relevant VR business and collaborate with us on improving services to our students. Always we have ample opportunity to hike in serene fresh air, develop networks and friendships among our many colleagues, and enjoy a moment's peace in an island of quiet in the midst of our sometimes hectic work life.

Opportunities for learning new things and for sharing what we know is our legacy from those folks who organized Indiana AHEAD. Seeing the tradition continue is both a privilege and a responsibility.

We hope you can come and join us sometime.

Liaison to AHEAD and President:
David Schwarte
Purdue University
128 Memorial Mall Drive
Stewart Center, Room 111
West Lafayette, IN 47907
President@IN-AHEAD.org

President-elect/Vice President
Carlos Talyor
Ball State University
2000 W. University Ave.
Muncie, Indiana, USA 47306
VicePresident@IN-AHEAD.org

Treasurer:
Joe Humbert
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
535 W Michigan St IT214E
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Treasurer@IN-AHEAD.org

Assistant Treasurer:
Currently Not filled
ATreasurer@IN-AHEAD.org

Secretary:
Deborah L. Spinney
University of Indianapolis
1400 East Hanna Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46227
Secretary@IN-AHEAD.org

Webmaster:
Tomas Gregg
Indiana University
2711 E Tenth St Rom 101
Bloomington, IN 47405
Webmaster@IN-AHEAD.org

IN-AHEAD Historian:
Martha Jacques
Indiana University
Franklin Hall 096
Bloomington, IN 47405
Historian@IN-AHEAD.org

More Information
For more information, please contact any of the officers listed above.

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