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TREMONT TO HOST NATIONAL ANCA MEETING IN 2011
Ken Voorhis, executive director of Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont (Tremont), John DiDiego, education director, and Charlene Stewart, human resources director and office manager, have just returned from the Annual Summit of the Association of Nature Center Administrators (ANCA).
Held this year at Treehaven Environmental Learning Center in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, this annual convention brings together people who run nature and environmental learning centers to share ideas, experiences, and hard-won professional wisdom. “This was a special meeting for us because we are hosting the 2011 Summit at Tremont August 18-21,” said Voorhis, “and we wanted to extend a special invitation to all ANCA members to come to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.”
ANCA is an international network of nature and environmental learning center leaders designed to enhance professionalism and provide the support system critical to innovative and progressive management. The four-day meeting is held each summer at various locations throughout the U.S. Summits are structured to bring nature and environmental learning center administrators together for information sharing, mentoring, training, and professional networking.
“This was my first Summit,” said DiDiego, “and it is a great place for professional development. I was welcomed with open arms, and by the end, I knew just about everybody. I really learned a lot and we certainly got some great pointers for next year’s meeting at Tremont.”
“This is the first time this group has met at Tremont since 1998, when we co-hosted the Summit with the Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville” said Voorhis. “We are very excited about bringing this group back to the national park and back to Tennessee. It’s a great opportunity to share not only what we are doing at Tremont, but to shine the spotlight on our national park and this part of the country.”
The Association of Nature Center Administrators is a private nonprofit organization that was founded in 1989 to create a professional association solely of and for leaders in the nature center profession. It is the only such organization in the U. S. Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is a private 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Since 1969, Tremont has provided in-depth experiences to over half a million people of all ages through residential educational programs that celebrate diversity, foster stewardship and nurture appreciation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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ANCA Summit XVll
August 18-21, 2011
Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont
Great Smoky Mountains National Park