2011 FSA Conference Vendors

Applications are now being accepted for vendors at the 2011 FSA International Conference to be held August 12, 2011, through August 13, 2011. Guidelines for vendors are as follows:

A request to set up displays should be submitted in writing to the FSA Executive Board.

All requests should be received by June 15, 2011. Notification will be provided in writing within 45 days as to whether the application has been approved.

Displays will be limited based on availability of space at the conference location.

No-shows may result in forfeiting future table display opportunities.

FSA in not responsible for any lost or stolen goods.

FSA will not be responsible for overseeing any display.

Product or Service must relate to adoption, childcare, parenting, and/or other products/services deemed relevant by the FSA Executive Board.

Cost: $35.00 for skirted table

$65.00 for a curtained booth and table

CLICK HERE to view and print the vendor application form.

International Conference News: 2011 FSA Awards

We are pleased to announce the 2011 Families Supporting Adoption Hall of Fame Award recipients:

Dr. Karyn Purvis, Texas Christian University

and

Bethany Christian Services

We want to express our thanks and appreciation for all of the care and compassion they give to children, birth parents, and adoptive couples throughout the world.

(Read about Dr. Purvis, and Bethany Christian Services)

Award recipients from previous years include: President Gordon B. Hinckley, President Thomas S. Monson, Michael McLean, Fred Riley, Krista Ralston Oakes, Gladney, David McConkie, Jay & Peggy Whitesides, Dale and Nathan Gwilliam, and many others.

FSA Chapter Awards for Outstanding Service

Illinois Chapter

Colorado Chapter

International Conference News: Friday Morning Keynote Speaker

Julie B. Beck

Relief Society General President


Julie Bangerter Beck was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her earliest memories are of growing up in the mission home in the heart of Sao Paulo, Brazil, where her father presided over the Brazilian Mission. By the time she returned to Utah at age nine, she was fluent in Portuguese and had developed a strong love for the gospel of Jesus Christ. She grew up in Granger, Utah, with 10 siblings. During high school her family moved to Alpine, Utah.

After a year at Dixie College, she met her husband, Ramon, an Alpine native. Both graduated from Brigham Young University. Sister Beck has served in many callings in the auxiliaries of the Church and in scouting. She served on the Young Women general board and as first counselor in the Young Women general presidency.

She currently serves as the Relief Society general president. As part of her responsibilities, she is a member of the Church Board of Education and the Boards of Trustees for Church schools and universities, and she is on the executive and general councils for Church welfare and the Perpetual Education Fund. She is the mother of 3 children and is the grandmother of 14. Sister Beck's chief sources of joy are spending time with her family and serving the Lord.

International Conference News: Special Guest Speaker

Charles "Chuck" Johnson is the president and CEO of the National Council For Adoption (NCFA) and the Director of the Infant Adoption Awareness Training Initiative. He is the primary editor of NCFA's highly rated Consider the Possibilities curriculum and of the Adoption Advocate, a monthly publication of NCFA. He is also the project manager and editor/writer of the Intercountry Adoption Journey: Hague-Compliant Training from NCFA, a Web-based training for prospective adoptive parents that promotes the learning objectives required by the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. Prior to joining NCFA, Mr. Johnson served 17 years with a licensed child-placing agency in Alabama, including eight years as its executive director. He was a consultant and on-camera participant to Hallmark Entertainment's A Family for Li. His recent citations include CNN, CNN International, Fox News, USA Today, Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, and Family News in Focus. Mr. Johnson is a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in Social Work and holds a Masters degree from Birmingham Theological Seminary. He has been a licensed practicing social worker since 1986. He is a father by adoption and lives with his wife and three children in Maryland.

2011 FSA International Conference Registration

Registration is up and running for the

2011 FSA International Conference.

Click here to go to the registration page.

The conference will be held at the Davis Conference Center in Layton, Utah on Friday, August 12, 2011, from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, and Saturday, August 13, 2011, from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm.

The cost of conference is $40 per person for early registration.

After July 15, 2011, registration will be $45 per person.

**Conference registration for birth parents is free**

Lodging information is located on the registration site.

Watch for more details about workshop topics...coming soon.

Friday Keynote Speaker: Sister Julie B. Beck, Relief Society General President

Special Guest Speaker: Chuck Johnson, National Council For Adoption

Saturday Keynote Speaker: Dr. Karyn Purvis, Texas Christian University