August 13-15, 2013 will be here before we know it, so make your plans now to join us in Sacramento for the Safe Routes to School National Conference! Check out the revamped website at www.saferoutesconference.org, and take a look at our Save the Date. You can forward it to your colleagues and friends encouraging them to join you in Sacramento.

When you save the date, don’t forget to mark your calendar for Monday, August 12 (the day before the conference) from 1-5pm for the Safe Routes Partnership’s free Annual Meeting! This half-day event includes an update on the Safe Routes Partnership's work and plans for the future, a federal update and our ever-popular breakout groups. There is also ample opportunity to network with fellow Safe Routes enthusiasts. Plan on signing up for this free meeting when you register for the Safe Routes to School National Conference. Watch for registration to open in Spring of 2013 on www.saferoutesconference.org.

I thought an insiders’ glance into what our conference planning committee is working on might be interesting. As you can well imagine, so much meticulous planning and effort takes place behind the scenes each time we plan one of these conferences. Right now, we are busy identifying conference themes, working on a robust list of potential keynote speakers and developing the call for session proposals. I personally can’t wait to see what session proposals we receive; it is always so hard to choose the sessions based on the interesting and creative submissions that come in from all over the country.

Also, make sure to like the Safe Routes to School National Conference on Facebook and start following SRTS_Conference on Twitter!