Do you want to acknowledge an exceptional arts education leader?
Do colleagues call you an arts advocacy superhero?
Did a business executive in your community go above and beyond for the arts this year?

It's time to recognize their hard work.

Americans for the Arts presents the Annual Awards to honor the achievements of leaders committed to enriching their communities through the arts each year. For every path an arts professional's career might take, there is an award that is right for them:

Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award
Arts Education Award
Emerging Leader Award
Michael Newton Award for United Arts Funds Leadership
Public Art Network Award
Selina Roberts Ottum Award for Arts Leadership

New Year, New Goals

By now, you've probably made a few New Year's resolutions: lose weight, quit smoking, or be more organized. But have you set career goals for 2008? Are you where you expected to be at this point in your career?

With the new year comes new insight and a fresh opportunity to reflect on where you've been and where you want to go. Peter Weddle, a leading expert in human resources, offers an idea called Career Fitness, described below.

Some of you may have noticed an email Americans for the Arts sent our a while ago about "The Members Project," a new intiative being launched by American Express.  Well, if you are like me, the e-mail may not have registered with you. Now that the project's Web site is active and the initiative is underway, I wanted to bring it to your attention because I think it is pretty cool and innovative.  Basically, American Express has combined an array of components - social networking sites, reality TV shows with public voting (like American Idol), growing public interest in philanthropy and voluntarism - into a single initiative. Here's how it works: American Express cardmembers register to participate and recommend or nominate project ideas - new programs or initiatives that will make the world (or their community) a better place. Cardmembers have a few weeks to nominate, as well as to review ideas posted by others.