Deborah Page

In this issue: Fall Conference Held, Dennis Boyd New OFLA Liaison, Spring 2017 Chapter Meeting/Election for Second Vice President, and 2017 Ohio AATG Officers

Fall Conference Held
The Ohio Chapter of the AATG held its fall conference on November 4-5, 2016 at the Hyatt Place Hotel in Worthington (Columbus). The conference began on Friday afternoon with award-winning Gerhard Maroscher, who presented the history of his recently published memoir, Why Can’t Somebody Just Die Around Here? He traces the story of his family’s life in Transylvania, and how the events of World War II forced family members to flee. The book chronicles their journey and eventual move to the United States, and speaks of the resilience of the human spirit, dedication to family and the love of freedom. Following this presentation, the group enjoyed dinner together, and participated in the sing-a-long with the Columbus Männerchor, who were performing at the restaurant.

On Saturday, Maria Herman presented a workshop, German IPA’s: No, this isn’t about beer… She provided a brief explanation of Integrated Performance Assessment, reviewed descriptions of proficiency and performance, and finally reviewed the four skill areas in the three modes. Participants all participated in creating a workable IPA for use in their classes. Following a lunch break, Stephanie Libbon presented the beta version of the state-wide database of foreign language programs and instructors she worked on for the last year with financial assistance from an AATG National Chapter Grant. This database allows the membership chair to monitor the number of active programs, as well as the teachers in them. Key is the ease of use. During this soft debut, participants were able to add their information to the database, and to offer suggestions for improvement prior to the general release. Watch for an email asking for your input.

The final portion of the conference was a chapter meeting. Debbie Page concluded her two-year term as chapter president, passing the baton (and chapter binders and records) to incoming president Julie Schonauer. Elections were held, the proposed budget was discussed and approved for the coming year, and possible future conference topics were discussed. Dennis Boyd, the chapter treasurer, was elected as the OFLA liaison for the chapter. Darlene Lyon was reaffirmed as the testing chair.

Dennis Boyd New OFLA Liaison
Dennis Boyd, the Treasurer of the Ohio Chapter of the AATG, was unanimously elected as the new liaison to the Ohio Foreign Language Association. Dennis teaches German at Brunswick High School in Medina, Ohio. The outgoing liaison, Debbie Page, was thanked for her 16 years of service in that position. Congratulations, Dennis!

Spring 2017 Chapter Meeting/Election for Second Vice President
The chapter’s spring meeting will be held in conjunction with the Ohio Foreign Language Association conference, scheduled for April 30 – April 1, 2017. The conference is being held in Columbus, OH this year. Please join us for the meeting, where we will be holding elections for the Second Vice President. If you are interested in serving in this position, please contact Julie Schonauer.

2017 Ohio AATG Officers
Office Name Email Term
President Julie Schonauer schonauerj@npschools.org 2016 – 2018
1st Vice President Gene Aufderhaar mailto:eaufder@gmail.com2016 – 2018
2nd Vice President OPEN – Election to be held March 31, 2017
Past President Debbie Page mailto:deborah.page@uc.edu2016 – 2017
Treasurer Dennis Boydmailto:dboyd1@me.com2011 –
& Liaison to OFLA 2016 –
Membership chair Mark Himmelein mailto:himmelm@mountunion.edu2012 –
Testing Chairperson Darlene Lyonmailto:fraulyon@yahoo.com2011 –
Webmaster Mark Himmelein mailto:himmelm@mountunion.eduongoing
Listserv moderator Stephanie Libbon mailto:slibbon@kent.eduongoing