Conference Diary Entry 7/24/12

AMTA 2012 Conference Diary

~ Sandi Curtis, VP & Conference Chair

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Days before the Conference: 79 days

Hours before the Conference: 1,896 hours

Minutes before the Conference: 113,760 minutes

What a great video from the folks putting on AMTA CMTE U “Everyday I get the Blues”:

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/2063c2eb1e7427d0e5c078d42b8b5e1c/video/148926071

Their session looks great. (https://netforum.avectra.com/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?WebCode=SessionDetail&session_key=bf53de04-20f2-49d2-a547-80921bab449c&evt_key=9a03d122-5937-4755-b742-cf3fd1ad60ca&Site=AMTA2)

“What is it about the sound of Blues guitar that is so special? Blues is both a cultural expression and emotional expression. This session begins with a brief history of the blues and some of its performers, followed by opportunity for participants to learn basic blues song forms, harmony, scales, and improvisation. Breakout sessions provide participants opportunity to learn the musical fundamentals of blues guitar from different eras. The session concludes with music therapy applications, including use of the blues to facilitate creativity, the benefits to mental health, and use of blues-style guitar for ensemble approaches with music therapy instruments.”

And the other folks offering CMTEs, Trainings, and Institutes are no slouches either – musictherapy.org

What a great line up – and they are filling up quickly. The NMT Training is almost full, and some of the others have limited enrollment – GIM, and Self-Supervision for Music Therapy Internship Supervisors, to name just a few.

Plus we have GRAMMY® Award winners on the slate – Cathy Fink offering a Songwriting Boot Camp and Marcy Marxer offering Swing Guitar. I may have to sign up for all of them. I wonder if anyone would notice my absence. Hmmm….

https://netforum.avectra.com/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?WebCode=SessionDetail&session_key=887a979f-a2e8-4fc2-8e56-29f1773c0e18&evt_key=9a03d122-5937-4755-b742-cf3fd1ad60ca&Site=AMTA2

https://netforum.avectra.com/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?WebCode=SessionDetail&session_key=1f108434-2f45-4704-b396-f25d398ae448&evt_key=9a03d122-5937-4755-b742-cf3fd1ad60ca&Site=AMTA2

Plus, I must remember to thank the Local Planning gang – they are really going all out and terribly creative. I may have to stop being a couch potato. Here’s what they sent me:

Want a cool way to spread the word about music therapy? We’re looking for a great and punny slogan to place on our music therapy workout shirts. Share your ideas and you could win an awesome prize! Check out the blog for more details!
https://amta2012.wordpress.com/

Well Diary, I’d better go. Gotta check out the latest on our AMTA 2012 in the social media:

Twitter (@AMTA2012)
WordPress (AMTA2012.wordpress.com)

Facebook (Amta2012)

Sandi Curtis

A Marathon Event!

As a conference related and Chicago Marathon inspired fundraiser for AMTA, the local planning chair will be selling music therapy workout shirts! We’ve selected a soft 50/50 cotton/poly blend which will look great and wick the sweat away while you are running, biking, playing with your kids, or sharing music on those steamy summer days. Now all we need is a great and punny slogan to put on them!  This is where you are involved. Submit your idea and/or graphics on the AMTA2012 twitter or facebook page (if you aren’t engaged in social media you can e-mail to becwellman@yahoo.com) to enter. The winner will receive their shirt for free and live in the eternal glory of knowing that people will be wearing their brainchild around the country to help promote music therapy. We’ll be taking orders soon and will have them available for pick up at conference. Can’t wait? Home delivery will be available at an additional cost.

Deadline for submissions is August 5, 2012. Let the fun begin!

Deals, deals, deals!

I think it is a common trait among music therapists that we are always looking for a bargain. Maybe it’s that early training for limited budgets and fluctuating paychecks. With that in mind, I thought it would be great to share some of my favorite bargains in the St. Charles area to make your visit a little more acceptable for your wallet and accountant.

Sudden Values: I get e-mails from this group in my in-box fairly regularly. There are many restaurants and other businesses who offer discounts on pre-paid services in the Geneva/St. Charles area. You can find some amazing deals for meals while you are at conference, but I would recommend checking mapquest or other map sites to determine how far the locations are from Pheasant Run to insure that it is possible for you to use your deal.  http://www.suddenvalues.com/foxvalley/

Groupon: Groupon only offers deals for the Chicago area, but if you put Western Suburbs in your preferences there may be some in the Geneva/St. Charles area which could strike your fancy. http://www.groupon.com/chicago/all

AmericanTowns: AmericanTowns offers coupons for different areas of the country. The Geneva page (just south of St. Charles) offers deals for restaurants as well as other services. It may take a while to dig through the rest of the info on the page, but some of the coupons may be worth the work. http://www.americantowns.com/il/geneva-coupons

For our more “seasoned” therapists there are discounts only available for them.
Culver’s (being built across the street): 10% off (60 yrs+)
IHOP (not far from the resort): 10% off (55 yrs+)
McDonald’s (not far from the resort): discounts on coffee every day (55 yrs+)
Ben & Jerry’s (in the resort): 10% off (60 yrs+)
Sweet Tomato (a little farther from the resort): 10% off (62 yrs+)
Kohl’s (in the mall near the resort): 15% off (60 yrs+)
Alamo: 25% off for AARP members
American Airlines: various discounts for those 65 and up (call before booking to determine)
Avis: up to 25% off for AARP members
Budget Rental Cars: 10% off; up to 20% off for AARP members (50 yrs+)
Dollar Rent-A-Car: 10% off (50 yrs+)
Enterprise Rent-A-Car: 5% off for AARP members
Hertz: up to 25% off for AARP members
National Rent-A-Car: up to 30% off for AARP members
Southwest Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
United Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)
US Airways: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)

Conference Diary 7/7/12

AMTA 2012 Conference Diary

Sandi Curtis, VP & Conference Chair

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Days before Early Bird Registration Deadline: 4 days!

Days before the Conference: 96 days

Hours before the Conference:  2,304 hours

Minutes before the Conference:  138,240 minutes

 

Yikes! I’d better register for the 2012 AMTA now myself! And tell my friends too. We could save $100 to $200 each with the July 11 Early Bird Registration Rates. There are so many Institutes, Training, and CMTE sessions that I am not sure I can make up my mind; but not to worry. Word from the our AMTA folks in the national office is that I can get my Conference Registration in for the Early Bird Deadline and then send in my other stuff later as  I make up my mind.

 

Hmmm, should it be a little NMT, BM GIM, NICU or Drumming training? And how about those CMTEs – there’s everything from kids to adults, from clinical practice to ethics and business, and a whole lot more.

 

 

Well Diary, I’d better go. Gotta check out the latest on our AMTA 2012 in the social media:

• Twitter (@AMTA2012)                                                
• WordPress (AMTA2012.wordpress.com) 
• Facebook (Amta2012)
• musictherapy.org