Message From Jean McLendon, President
I continue to be
grateful for the feelings of connection, community and celebration that so
many of us shared at our recent Annual Conference and Membership meeting in
Seattle. Avanta exceeded all of its goals with this special gathering. We
had more registrants than ever before, and they came from nearly 20
countries. Satir Institutes, Sister Organizations and Friends of Avanta made
their presence known and felt. The most exciting thing about the Conference
was that it made visible our growing numbers of third and fourth generation
practitioners. Nearly half of the registrants had never met Virginia. It
is obvious that our global Satir family is enlarging. We are a diverse group
of people who apply the Satir Growth Model in many different ways and
places.
Generosity and
creativity bubbled all around us. Read about the successful auction and the
contributions that were made to building our Satir Wall of Peace and
Justice. Presenters were plentiful, excellent and gave from a place of
authenticity and altruism. Two DVD films were shown anchoring us to our
past, present and future. One film presented our history as spoken and
shared by some of our most revered Avantans. The other, a documentary
segment, showed a current application of Satir work with Hospice. The
conference was truly a glorious happening. There are more people to thank
than can be done with this letter. Please know that your efforts and gifts
were evident and much appreciated.
Those of you who
attended the Jean Houston keynote presentation at the Conference know that
she offered her help with our mission. At the conference many of you
expressed interest and enthusiasm for a possible collaboration with her.
Conversations with Jean have continued. A small group will assist me in
exploring and assessing the fit for Avanta to sponsor an intensive Satir
training seminar with Jean. A report will be presented to the Avanta board
at the March meeting. We will keep you posted.
Hopefully, you
have already begun making plans to attend next year’s Conference, which will
be held in the lovely city of Prague, May 16-19. We are partnering with The
Czech and Slovak Institutes for what will be another event..."Not To Miss’.
Avanta will also have cause for celebration at this Conference: Our
organization will be 30 Years Old. Check the web sites of Avanta
www.avanta.net and the Institute for
International Connections
www.IIConnect.org for details about marvelous tours and cross-cultural
training opportunities happening after the Conference and Annual Meeting.
As you know, we
are in a major transition with your board taking on more of the
organizational operations. Our ‘Third Birth’ contractions are becoming
more frequent and regular. We can feel new life emerging. Your board and
our Satir community have what it takes to move Avanta forward. With our
combined talents and experience Avanta will learn to stand on its own two
feet. Our morale is high, our vision clear, our commitment strong and our
global sense of connectivity is growing. And besides, we have important
work to do. The Satir Growth Model has never in our lifetime been more
needed.
Thank you for your encouraging support.
Warmly,
Jean McLendon
president@avanta.net