| Fall 1999
Love Your Body Day: Panel explores gender issues Making a major shift: A letter from MN NOW lobbyist Susal Stebbins New cosmetic surgery technique makes emulating false standards of beauty dangerously easy Conventioneers discuss proposed Feminist Communications Network National NOW conference a "head-spinning" experience Headwaters Walk for Justice draws 700 participants
|
National NOW conference a "head-spinning" experience
By Kristine Ihrke I may have anxiously gripped the armrests as the plane was rushing up to speed for take-off, but even the curious stares from my fellow passengers could not wipe the grin off my face. I am in a plane! I have a window seat! Who knows what the sights will be from up there in the sky! I am on my way to California!! It was Fourth of July weekend and I was on my way to the National NOW Conference in Los Angeles, California—an area of the country I’d never seen before. Needless to say, there were a lot of reasons for excitement… Once up in the air, it was difficult to avert my stare from my window. It had been at least ten years since I’d been in a plane, and I was not at all prepared for the beauty that was stretched out, thousands of feet below me. The gorgeous terrain below was flying by, the clouds looked like the mysterious remnant of a chemist’s lab, and the sun was brilliant. In short, the ride was no less than magnificent. By the time I reached California, I had remembered the advice given to me before leaving and was more confident in my traveling skills. I swiftly hopped aboard a shuttle van bound for the direction of the conference hotel in Beverly Hills and leaned back for the ride. Once there, I was met with a sight I’d never seen before: hundreds of men and women—all wearing National NOW Conference tags, talking, smiling, laughing, carrying folders and pens, wearing buttons, and walking about. At first I was a bit intimidated by the sight—I was here to mingle among them. Would I be able to fit in? But the next wave of excitement soon crested over me and the discomfiture was forgotten. I jumped in line at the registration table set about making my arrival official. Just one of the highlights of the trip occurred not long after my arrival. While sitting at a table and examining the conference agenda, I looked up only to find a woman standing in front of me with a camera in hand. She introduced herself as Elizabeth Toledo’s mom, shook my hand and politely asked if she could take my picture. (Elizabeth Toledo—National NOW VP of Action and former California NOW President) I accepted, and became an officially documented attendee of the National NOW Conference. Then it was off to the conference workshops. I had many to choose from, but having graduated with a degree in Mass Communications, my interests lay more in the media direction. And I was far from disappointed… The workshops and seminars were worth their weight in gold! I walked away jazzed, giddy and ready to go to work for the Minnesota NOW cause. I had realized the media is a strong, cost-effective means of advertising. As a matter of fact, one workshop presenter’s words had particularly inspired me, “After our chapter’s increased media coverage, we grew dramatically! Not only in membership, but also in chapter net worth! Our members were hearing the message being covered in the media, calling and encouraging us!” I came away from the National Conference with head spinning… I knew what I wanted to do and I now felt I had the means (knowledge) to do it. Now it was just a matter of opportunity. This came in the form of National Love Your Body Day—an event we took on as a Minnesota Chapter. The seven-person panel discussion I helped coordinate and moderate was undoubtedly one of the most satisfying and rewarding experiences I have ever had. The National Conference was not only a vacation away from home, but also a vacation from my standard thought processes… It was a launchpad for me, a break away from the normal day-to-day thoughts and ideas, and an inspiration for me to go on and do things I have never done, much less thought about before. Who knows what I will end up making of the future, career-wise, but for some reason, I have a strong feeling a lot of it will relate back to the National NOW conference I attended in 1999, with financial backing from both the Minnesota Valley and Minnesota state chapters! Thank you, thank you, thank you, everyone who helped get me there! |