| Events: Midwinter Meeting & Retreat |
When: January 18-20, 2013 Where: Houston, Texas
Details: If you've never been to our midwinter events, we strongly encourage you to attend. It's a chance to aid in divisional governance and get to know some other divisional members much better. EVERY division member is welcome to attend any/all of our activities and there is no fee for attending our events. If you plan to attend, please email Chris Liang so we can get a headcount.
Schedule:
Announcements and News
Discussion
7:30pm: Dinner at Canyon Café (about a 15 minute walk or 2 minute cab ride). Chris is currently holding a 7:30pm reservation for 25 people and will need a final head count by noon (EST) January 4th in order to complete the reservation. Please email Chris Liang to RSVP.
Saturday, 1/19 6:00pm: Dinner
Sunday, 1/20 For approximately twenty years, a men’s retreat has been held at the time of the SPSMM annual mid-winter meeting. That retreat, formerly held on Saturdays, has been replaced by our mixed gender retreat open to all SPSMM members. The men’s retreat is no longer an official function of this division, but it has continued as an independent event on the Sunday following the other SPSMM activities. It will take place at the Extended Stay Suites located beside the Royal Sonesta. Coffee & breakfast stuff will be available by 7:30 and the retreat will begin @8:00 and run until 1pm. There will be a nominal charge for refreshments. Please contact Gary Brooks (gbrooks300[at]aol[dot]com) by back channel if you wish to attend the men’s retreat.
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Minutes from the 2011 Midwinter Retreat: |
Recap of the 2010 Midwinter Retreat |
The 2010 Midwinter Retreat was historic for Division 51. For all of you who made it special, thank you. Long in its history as a space for the men of Division 51 to foster fellowship and to personally grow, this year’s retreat was the first to include women. Much debate and deliberation preceded this year’s invitation for women to join the group. Many who have been active in the Division are well aware of the strong desire of some perennial retreat goers to keep it an all-male event. For many of them, the desire was to create a separate retreat to be held concurrent to the all-male event, with an opportunity for a mixed-gender venue immediately following. This assertion was grounded in the belief that the presence of women may alter the dynamics and change how men confront personal and professional problems during the retreat. Men have not been the only advocates of this men’s group, as one Division 51 female leader has publicly stated a number of times, women have been pleased over the years on the effect that the group has had on the (male) participants. When men return from a retreat feeling refreshed and productive, which has apparently been a common observation, that’s a good thing for their families, co-workers, clients, and anyone else they encounter. Nonetheless, after nearly 20 years of being an all-male event, this past retreat was the first mixed-gender retreat of the Division’s history. In order to commemorate this event Jennifer Primack, David Whitcomb, Chris Liang, and Fred Rabinowitz offer their reflections on this year’s retreat and mid-year meetings.
Back: Chris Kilmartin, Andy Smiler, Brandon Youngblood, Ryon McDermott, Chen Oren, Rory Remer Middle: Jennifer Primack, Marina Epstein, Fred Rabinowitz, Ron Levant, David Whitcomb, Erin Reilly, Aaron Rochlen Bottom: Larry Beer, Gary Brooks, Chris Liang, Sam Buser, David Scheinfeld, Joe Grasso |
