National Professional Development Symposium

Sequestration Rules Cause For National Professional Development Symposium Cancellation

Due to requirements associated with conferences and sequestration, we must cancel the National Professional Development Symposium and the four pre-symposium courses. We realize that this is an inconvenience for many of you, and a disappointment to all of us. We apologize to all who made plans to attend.

Rest assured that the USFA’s commitment to professional development for the fire and emergency services remains as strong as ever, and that our support and associated activities will continue.

The decision to cancel the 2013 symposium does not mean that all future such symposia are cancelled. We will begin working on the 2014 edition in August of this year.

In the meantime, this is an opportunity for us to discover new ways of conducting business. Remember, we are all looking for ways to “do different with less.”

In the coming weeks, we will conduct a series of workshops and communication events via Adobe Connect. Our intent is to:

1. Continue to promote professional development.
2. Assist in building regional summits.
3. Support the collaborative efforts of education, training and certification.
4. Facilitate integration of the national professional development matrix at the local level.

The fire service needs TRADE and FESHE help now more than ever. The professional development initiatives are not gone.

As professional development leaders, we are called to continue the discussions, collaborations and observations that will help our agency leaders face tough issues. We have identified the paths through the use of such tools as the national professional development matrix and the FESHE standardized core courses. Our future discussions will continue to refine these tools as needed. Forthcoming summits will help localities apply these tools to their particular situations.

We will move on and face these road bumps with confidence, determination and innovation.