Fall is in the air – I’ve gone from sleeveless tops to long sleeve t-shirts for our daily morning walks with the girls.  And for those of you that don’t know who the girls are, that Hattie and Lacey our two Great Pyrenees.  On the Coffee/Tea Chats, Dr. Chess, urges us to take time and care of ourselves, so that we can go about doing the work of networks.  Since instituting the daily early morning walks with the girls, I will have to admit that it has helped me in many ways – it gets me up and moving and helps me log 15-20 minutes of walking every day; fresh air and beautiful scenery is a great way to start the day; and love the great company – my husband and dogs!  One of the biggest joys each morning is watching Hattie (left) and Lacey (right) express their excitement as they run through the house for the front door to get their leashes on to go for a walk!  I hope all your board members react that way when it comes to their involvement in your network! 

NCHN’s network organizations are only as strong as the leadership – and you are the leader!  If you do not have a routine in place to take care of yourself, then I encourage you to develop one, make it a habit, and share with us what you are doing, along with some photos for the website. I think all of the regular participants on the Coffee/Tea Chats have a mental image of one member that is always moving during the chat!

Speaking of taking time for yourself and taking care of yourself, if you have not considered attending the 2012 NCHN Leadership Summit next month, this would be a great place to begin taking care of yourself!  The Leadership Summit will be the one place where you can meet with your peers and colleagues from across the country and feel at ease discussing your most pressing leadership challenge and/or sharing your best leadership strategy.  There is still time, barely, to get your room reservation at the special NCHN rate – and register for the Summit. 

The 2012 Leadership Summit Committee has prepared an outstanding event.  Details are included within this newsletter and are also posted on the NCHN website.

• Encouragement to those of you that have not completed your profile on the new NCHN website. If you haven’t visited the site, please take a few minutes to explore the resources available to you as a Network Leader. One of the new components of the site is the network profile section. This is an excellent networking tool to help you better connect with your colleagues. 
• The formatting and editing of the submissions received to the call for “Best Practice Models/Success Stories/Lessons Learned are underway and will soon be available for viewing on both the NCHN website and the RAC (Rural Assistance Center) website.  Watch for details on how to access these learning tools in a September Weekly Digest. 
• Second Orientation Call – Thursday, September 6 – details are included in this newsletter.
• September Coffee/Tea Chat – Wednesday, September 12 – looking forward to a great discussion about the responsibilities of your network boards and how you go about setting goals for the board and tracking their progress.
• The 2012 Network Leader and Salary Survey Report was recently released.  Thanks so much to the 36 NCHN members that participated in the survey. We are in the process of administration of the survey to non-NCHN members.  If you have network s within your state that are not currently members of NCHN, but that you think would be interested in participating in this survey, please let us know.   
• Plans are underway for the second National Rural Health Day, scheduled for Thursday, November 15.  Watch for suggestions for activities and programs that your network may want to offer or participate in to become a part of this national celebration of rural health.  The event is coordinated by our partner, NOSORH (National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health). 

In other news this month, we are so happy to welcome a new member, Virginia Telehealth Network and Edie Bowles as the Network Leader. We look forward to working with Edie again and welcome VTN to NCHN!

I hope to see you in Kansas City for the 2012 NCHN Leadership Summit in September! 

Rebecca J. Davis, Ph.D.
Ph: 970-712-0732