Conference Memories Ep. 2: Guan Jang-Wu

Dr. Guan, friend, colleague, grad school comrade, WEA Certified Outdoor Educator, faculty at National Taiwan Sports University, and long-time WEA member writes about his favorite conference experiences and why he continues to support the WEA! 

Will Hobbs
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Giving students an opportunity and platform to communicate with a group of great people from all over United States... a priceless learning experience.

 

I have been taking students to WEA conferences as part of my USA adventure travel course for many years. It has always been a great experience for me and my students. I think the best part of WEA is giving students an opportunity and platform to communicate with a group of great people from all over United States. People share their cultures, stories, explore different perspectives and find common grounds. From a teacher’s viewpoint, it was a priceless learning experience. 

For me personally, WEA conference is a great venue to connect with new and old friends, learn new things from best teachers in the outdoor field, and have a great time at the evening social. These memories will last forever!

Guan Jang-Wu, Ph. D.

Conference Memories Ep. 1: Steve Spencer

If you don't know Steve, or "Doc" as his students have always called him (to his face), then you are in for a treat. The anecdotes are legendary; he's written a collection of stories as "Dr. Odell Buckenflush", recently retired from teaching at Western Kentucky University, and is refurbishing a house in the Ozarks with his wife Debbie. He also likes canoes. Steve hung out with Paul Petzoldt on the first WEA Professional Short course (led by Jack Drury and Mark Wagstaff) in 1991, and he quickly progressed through the WEA instructor ranks while leading courses at WKU. He has served on the WEA Board, received the Frank Lupton Service Award, and is now a Lifetime Member of the WEA - so we're stuck with him. 

He's my mentor and hero so I asked him to recount a few of his strongest memories from WEA conferences (now that he's old and retired, I use the word "strongest" loosely).

Will Hobbs
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Memories of WEA Conferences Past

One [memory] has to be the auction that the guy from CCO in Pennsylvania led (I can't remember his name...Dave? Paul [Harbison] or Francois would know). He had the crowd rolling with laughter and I bought some of Cheryl [Teeter's] moose underwear and put them on while on stage. 

At another conference, Paul [Petzoldt] was signing his mountaineering posters for my sons, Beau and Ty, and he got pissed because he wrote the wrong name on the poster... He said, "Well, $*%&*!" and tore it up while sitting at the table. Afterwards it was pretty funny, but I remember when it happened it caught me off guard. 

It was a big surprise when I received the Frank Lupton Service Award around 2006. I was totally surprised and as I went up on the stage to receive it, Jack Drury was yelling, "Speech! Speech!"... I couldn't have talked if I wanted to. 

But more than any single conference event or memory, I just think the social contacts and acquaintances of folks in the field blur into really enjoyable memories that were the highlight of my career. In my previous life "as a college football coach," the annual coaches' conferences were full of guys who had been fired and were scrambling for jobs, so it was never an enjoyable social time with no shared knowledge. 

At WEA conferences, I always left with something beyond the social networking that I could apply in my teaching. "For when you stop learning, you begin to die."  

Dr. Steve Spencer

Call for Presenters - International Conference on Outdoor Leadership

The Wilderness Education Association seeks Dynamic Presentation Proposals

31st International Conference on Outdoor Leadership (ICOL)Judgment the WEA Way: Making Decisions that Work

February 19 - 22, 2020 at HoneyRock, Wheaton College's Outdoor Center for Leadership Development in Three Lakes, WI

"One aspect of outdoor leadership is absolute and unquestionable: A leader must be able to make quality decisions...based on good judgment." - Paul Petzoldt, a WEA founder.

In the WEA, we believe the most effective professionals are authentic leaders with the judgment to make decisions that work: that manage risk, protect the environment, and achieve the outcomes of the experience. Today, the WEA sets standards for outdoor leadership education; provides curriculum and assessment for outdoor leadership training and development; and offers credentialing for leaders and educators.

The 2020 International Conference on Outdoor Leadership is built on the work of people like you: professional educators and practitioners dedicated to developing outdoor leaders who make quality decisions based on good judgment. HoneyRock is "a place apart" from our regular pace and routine and provides the exciting and novel environment to share your experience, best practices, concerns; to envision the future; and to move the Association forward with clarity and purpose! Please consider presenting your expertise and passion for outdoor leadership!

This 31st International Conference on Outdoor Leadership is intentionally designed to deliver an inspired, practical, and motivating learning experience for attendees. Our educational sessions for 2020 will emphasize applied learning, judgment and decision-making, and leadership training & development. Presenters can choose from several presentation categories to best match their educational outcomes and maximize the opportunities of the Northwoods location. Students are especially encouraged to submit proposals in any category.

Please note that preference will be given to speaker presentations that:

1. Align with the conference theme: Judgment and Decision-making, and support the conference experience of being together in a place apart.
2. Emphasize leadership, educational skills, and developing judgment (as opposed to simply teaching an outdoor skill).
3. Incorporate stories, examples, case studies and best practices... (demonstrating that your key takeaways are applicable in multiple environments).

Read more about the presentation proposals, 2020 schedule, registration, and what to expect on the ICOL webpage.

Presentation submissions will be accepted through October 15, 2019, and reviewed promptly. Presenters whose proposals are accepted will be notified as quickly as possible and offered Early Bird Registration prices.

Contact the Conference Committee with further questions: conference@weainfo.org.