The 27th Annual Mission Possible conference will be held on Wednesday, March 20, at the Pitser Garrison Convention Center in Lufkin, TX. It is an education and networking event that brings together behavioral health providers, community organizations, and interested individuals. This year’s conference theme, “Making a Leap Forward,” aims to inspire participants to push themselves further in their careers, lives, and personal growth.
The conference will start with a keynote session presented by SFASU Professor DawnElla Rust, Ed.D., who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease fourteen years ago. She will share how a healthy lifestyle has influenced her progression of this disease. With a touch of humor, she will share her side-step, step back, fall down, and leap forward approach to “living” her life with Parkinson’s Disease.
After the keynote, various professionals and educators will cover topics such as substance use, Alzheimer’s disease, adult and children’s mental health, family challenges, and community engagement.
At lunchtime, a panel of mental health professionals, including Burke Psychiatrist David Larned, MD, and Burke’s psychiatric nurse practitioner, Cally Dingler. They will answer frequently asked questions about mental health care services and treatment methods.
Mental health professionals who register for the conference also receive a free pre-conference Ethics workshop on March 19, with three ethics presentations from SFASU Social Work faculty. The presentations will provide 4.5 hours of CEs for licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, and social workers.
The conference also includes a recognition ceremony, during which the SFASU School of Social Work presents the Spirit Award to a community member who embodies the “spirit” of social work. This year’s award recipient is State Representative Travis Clardy, who has helped pass legislation to provide funding to improve the Rusk State Hospital inpatient psychiatric facilities, mental health bed capacity in rural counties, and is supporting efforts to address the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities staffing shortage.
The Spirit Award has been presented since 2010 in memory of the late Dr. Linda Morales, the associate dean and director of the School of Social Work from 2002 to 2007. Past awardees of the Social Work Spirit Award include Roger Aker, Glynn Yarbrough, Charlotte Stokes, Rev. Kyle Childress, Luellen Fain, Royce Garrett, G.W. Neal, Buddy Zeagler, Patricia McKenzie, Susan Rushing, Paul Jackson, and Samye Johnson.
Planning sponsors of Mission Possible include Burke, the Alcohol and Drug Awareness Council of Deep East Texas, the Alzheimer’s Association, Texas Health and Human Services, Rusk State Hospital, the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Social Work, the SFASU Richard and Lucille DeWitt School of Nursing, and Oceans Behavioral Hospital-Lufkin.
The Mission Possible conference is organized by Burke, the Alcohol and Drug Awareness Council of Deep East Texas, the Alzheimer’s Association, Texas Health and Human Services, Rusk State Hospital, the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Social Work, the SFASU Richard and Lucille DeWitt School of Nursing, and Oceans Behavioral Hospital-Lufkin.
According to Kinnie Reina, Conference Coordinator and Burke’s Director of Communications, “the conference aims to provide evidence-based solutions, tools to improve services, and resources to build community connections.” To view the full conference schedule and register, please visit the Burke website at www.myburke.org/missionpossible.
