I want to welcome everyone back to the start of another school year.  I hope everyone had a great summer!  This year is going to be another great year for the organization.  We have been working hard as a group in the past several years to modernize the organization and give the students more competition opportunities.  Part of the transition has been the change in the IDEA/ITEC Conference which occurs every fall.  Last year we combined with the ITEC Conference for a hands on Friday/Saturday conference.  This year that will continue.  The information and pricing will be posted under the Friday/Saturday program tab.  We are always looking for presenters as well.  If you have something great to share with everyone consider being a presenter.  Let Jerritt Williams on the IDEA board know or Steve Parrott at ISBE for the ITEC side of the conference.  This year’s ITEC dates will be November 8^th-9^th.  Also as we enter a new school year please reach out to the new teachers in the state and let them know about our organization and what it has to offer.  We are always looking to reach new areas.  If you are currently in an area of the state that does not have a regional contact Steve Skorup who is working on expanding our regional availability.  Remember the architectural and engineering team competition problems will be posted here in November.  As always if anyone has any ideas or suggestions please do not hesitate to contact me as we are always looking for ways to improve. 

Brian Rick

President- IDEA