Welcome to the New Year!  I want to talk about something new with you that is as old as life itself; the teenage brain.  Does it come as any surprise that adolescents think differently than adults? - Really? 

I surely do hope you "got" my Schoolhouse Rocks reference.  You're never too old to enjoy Schoolhouse Rocks - that's what I say, anyway.  It makes me remember back to my days in junior high social studies class, memorizing the lines to "I'm Just a Bill."  Our teacher, my very favorite of all time, utilized so many memorable teaching tools that stayed with me to this day.  One of the things I remember vividly was her poster of a cat nearly falling off a tree branch (I always wonder if the photographer gave him a hand after snapping the picture... Just seems cruel.), and it read as you probably remember, "Hang In There." 

Have you been waiting with bated breath to find out who our drawing winner was from the UDETC National Prevention Conference in Orlando?  Well, I thought you might...

Melvy here, checking in from Orlando.  It's been a quick couple of days, and I didn't want to wind down our trip to UDETC's National Leadership Conference without posting a quick blog about my journey. 

Well, my travels were a bit daunting, due in large part to finding gray rainy skies upon setting foot outside the airport.  However, our arrival at Rosen Shingle Creek hotel here in Orlando was easy breezy.  What lovely people.  Walking across the hotel to the convention center where the National UDETC Leadership Conference is being held, I realized how much work OJJDP puts into this conference.  Wow!  It's incredible.  Cafe Prevention has a little, lonely station in the exhibit hall across from what appears to be a DJ booth... live stage... karaoke stand... I don't know exactly what it is, but I intend to find out - looks very intriguing, anyway. 

I'm gearing up to join law enforcement, community and coalition members, and youth from all over the country for UDETC and OJJDP's “Spotlighting Community Solutions to Underage Drinking” national conference in Orlando, Florida next week.