TriState at 30

Thirty years ago, local quality professional development opportunities for school business officials were few and far between in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Three intrepid school business officials – Ollie Jakob, Steve Bartlett, and Bill Moorman – pondered this void and realized that, while no state alone had the resources to address this problem, all three states together as a group certainly could. Thus, our TriState ASBO Conference was born on the shores of Lake Morey in Fairlee, Vermont. Held there at the Lake Morey Inn for four of its first five years, our conference then embarked on its current alternating schedule tour of sites in all three states.

Over the past thirty years our TriState ASBO Conference has filled the void by providing two and a half days of quality professional development opportunities each spring. Our conference has grown to where there are only a limited number of locations in the three states that are large enough to house it. It has survived outside dining and vendor exhibits in the cold, wind, and rain in Boothbay Harbor, late night fire alarms in South Burlington and Portland, a last-minute cancellation in 2020 due to COVID-19, and the need to go virtual in 2021. From island lobster bakes to mountain ax throwing to riding a lakeside carousel, our conference has also met our needs for networking and recharging. The Thursday afternoon vendor exhibit has deepened our knowledge of and relationship with many of our key suppliers.

Our TriState ASBO conference has been a success because of the partnership we have forged among our school business officials, vendors, and host sites. Careful planning by the 21-member committee that oversees our conference has also been key.

So, lets celebrated the first 30 years of TriState and look forward to its continued success!!