Greetings to the Mountain-Plains Museum Community and Museum colleagues everywhere: Many of you have wondered if the joint conference between MPMA (Mountain Plains Museums Association) and OMA (Oklahoma Museum Association) is still being held October 3 - 6 in Tulsa. I am happy to report that it is! We have extended the registration deadline from September 21st to September 28th to accommodate travel changes. We heard from so many of you who asked that the conference go on as scheduled. We have also heard you say that gathering with others in the museum community is important now more than ever as there is a strong need to connect with friends and colleagues at this time of pain and sadness. Those of us who are planning this conference or who are session presenters look forward to gathering with all of you, too. Not only do we want professional growth, but right now we need professional camaraderie. And not only will the conference go on, but two sessions have been added that will deal directly with what museums should do in the aftermath of a disaster. The Town Hall session on Thursday, scheduled immediately after the MPMA luncheon and in the same room, will provide insight into how museums in our region reacted to their own tragedies (Oklahoma City and Columbine; there may be other places represented, too). There will also be time for audience participation since we anticipate that people will have a compelling desire to discuss and have many questions about recent events. In addition, there will be a session on security procedures. I know that everyone has felt a sense of helplessness during the past week, wondering what can we do? It this question that will no doubt dominate our discussions during the conference. Regarding the role of museums in times like these, we may be amazed and heartened to hear about the many ways in which museums all over our region have responded to their communities. This should be an interesting meeting! Please feel free to pass this note on to others in your state or community. To register, call MPMA at 303-979-9358 or OMA at 405-424-7757. Monta Lee Dakin Executive Director MPMA P.S. We will make room for anyone who wants to attend the MPMA luncheon on Thursday. The luncheon will precede the Town Hall Meeting, so we anticipate that people will want to secure a seat ahead of time by having lunch in the same room. See you in Tulsa for the MPMA/OMA Annual Conference October 3-6! (Ms.) Monta Lee Dakin Executive Director Mountain-Plains Museums Association 303-979-9358 fax 303-979-3553 7110 West David Drive Littleton, CO 80128-5404 [log in to unmask] ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).