Spanish sessions offered
The 24th annual Building Strong Families Conference will be held on Oct. 24 at the Broadway Church of Christ, 1924 Broadway Ave., Lubbock.
The conference will run from 8 a.m.-3 p.m., with registration and breakfast starting at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $12, which includes breakfast and lunch.
Attendance is limited to 200 people, and Oct. 14 is the deadline to preregister online. Call 806-834-7959 for additional information or assistance. Select sessions will be presented in Spanish.
“This parenting conference is targeted at both parents and professionals who work with families in the 20-plus county area surrounding Lubbock,” said Kay Davis, AgriLife Extension Family & Community Health Agent for Lubbock County. “The sessions will be on a variety of family issue topics and feature local, area, state and nationally recognized speakers.”
Sarah Wakefield will be the morning keynote speaker and her talk, “Connections: The Way to the Future,” will kick off the event. A box lunch will be available from 11:30 a.m.-12:50 p.m., and the lunchtime speaker will be a police officer panel presenting “Connecting Your Words to Your Actions Through Volunteering.”
There will also be a student panel discussion led by George Comiskey, Ph.D., associate professor of practice for community, family and addiction science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock. The concluding keynote speech will be “Making a Connection with Resiliency” by Steve Talbert, counselor for the Lubbock Independent School District.
Educational exhibits from local sponsors will showcase available resources for parents and families. In addition to the keynote speakers, there will be breakout sessions with multiple topics.
“The theme of connecting will run throughout the conference with the goal of providing attendees real-world techniques to better communicate with youth,” said Davis.
Scheduled breakout sessions and speakers include:
— “Connecting with the Unconnected: That Teenager in Your House You Used to Know” – Terry and Marty Groves, National Center for Parenthood Enrichment, Lubbock.
— “Connecting with the Present/The Power of Meditation and Mindfulness” – Michael Mincher, General Manager, Walking X Inc. general manager, Lubbock.
— “Conectando los Puntos: Desarrollo Sexual Durante la Adolescencia” – Elizabeth Trejos, Ph.D., associate professor of human health development and family studies, Texas Tech University, Lubbock.
— “Connecting Mental Health Care to Health Care” – Keino McWhinney, Texas Tech Mental Health Institute director, Lubbock.
— “Connections Instead of Correction: Fun and Nurturing Ways to Interact with Your Children to Change Behaviors” – Dana Bearden, director of family outreach, Methodist Children’s Home, Lubbock.
— “Connecting the Dots of Self Care and Restoration” – Ann Krier, Lettuce Lesson spirituality discussion leader, Lubbock.
— “Calming the Chaos Through Connection” – Emily Johnson, registered play therapist, Lubbock.
— “Conectando Generaciones de Diferentes Culturas” – Oscar Reyes, juvenile justice alternative education program principal, Lubbock Independent School District.
— “Connecting Students and Families for Success” – Fiona May, United Way Communities in Schools, South Plains chief federal program officer, Lubbock.
— “Connecting the Family with Healthy Cooking” – Kay Davis, MS, LD, AgriLife Extension family and community health agent, Lubbock.
— “Haciendo la Conexión con la Salud Mental y Cómo Reconcerla” – Adelaida Montemayor, clinical social worker, Lubbock, and Janie Hernandez, teacher, Lubbock ISD.
–”Adolescent Sexual Development: Connecting ‘The Birds and the Bees’ with your Teen’s Health” – Nancy Trevino, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension Urban & Youth Development agent, Lubbock County.
Conference sponsors include: Amerigroup, Children’s Home of Lubbock, Department of State Health Services-Health Service Region 1, FirstCare Health Plans, Lubbock Independent School District, MAXIMUS Texas, STAR/STAR Kids/STAR+PLUS/CHIP/TEXAS HEALTH Steps Outreach, Methodist Children’s Home Family Outreach, Nurse Family Partnership, Region 17 Education Service Center, River Crest Hospital, Southwest Dairy Farmers, Lubbock County VOICES/StarCare, Superior HealthPlan, AgriLife Extension Service of Lubbock County, Texas Tech University Center for Early Head Start, and Texas Tech University Center for Community, Family and Addiction Sciences Department.
The Building Strong Families Conference was founded by the Lubbock County Partners for Parenting Coalition. For more information, go to the conference’s Facebook page or https://www.buildingstrongfamilieslubbock.org.
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