TWO ITEMS

A few Tennessee cities have been nominated for this program in the past. This year the Southern Growth Policies Board is emphasizing programs that benefit 14-24 year olds. If you know of a city program that might qualify, please nominate them or encourage them to nominate themselves. Thanks.

SOUTHERN GROWTH SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR 2008 INNOVATOR AWARDS
Each year, Southern Growth Policies Board honors inventive initiatives that are improving the quality of life in the region through the Innovator Awards. Southern Growth is currently seeking nominations for initiatives that promote youth engagement and leadership in
Southern Growth's member states . Programs that target 14-24 year olds are of particular interest. To view the complete award criteria, submit a nomination or view past award winners, visit
http://www.southern.org/innovators/innovators.shtml . The deadline for nominations is October 22, 2007. An independent evaluation panel will choose one innovator from each Southern Growth member state for this award. Southern Growth Policies Board will present the awards at the opening session of its
annual conference scheduled for June 1-3, 2008 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

MTAS Gift Fund - We've created an MTAS gift fund. It is similar to the CTAS gift fund which has existed for over 20 years. The purpose is to provide funding for some extras that are sometimes difficult to purchase using UT funds. Examples include: meals for spouses at the annual conference; meals, bagels, etc. for employee gatherings; gift items for special events; and others. I've given $500 to start the fund which should get us through the end of this year and beyond. If you would like to give, you would need to contact Tom Looney at IPS. You can divert some of what you are currently giving through the family campaign to this special gift fund or you can (and I'm sure this would make Tom Looney happy) add to what you are currently giving to the family campaign. Thanks.