Appointments...these staff and faculty members are truly amazing!

I am pleased to tell you about some work being done by several of our colleagues, including an appointment to a state wide group by one.

Rick Cloud has been elected to serve on the Board of Directors for People Advocating Recovery (PAR), a KY state wide advocacy "group of concerned individuals working to eliminate barriers to recovery from addiction." Notable, PAR worked with the Pew and others in recently getting HB463 passed, a major revision to to the KY penal code that encourages addiction treatment and reentry support over incarceration for non-violent substance abuse offenses and a move away from mandatory sentencing that has caused burgeoning prison populations. This bill is expected to save KY millions of correctional dollars. In addition, Pat McKiernan, Dru Kemp, Sherry Roark (UofL IT) and Rick are also working with PAR under a state grant in which they plan to recommend use of their program, Altus (formerly WAR) Online Recovery Support Web programming ( http://www.altusrecovery.org ) as a recovery coaching tool. Last, together they are working with them to develop an educational program for recovery coaches, a new and growing trend in managing recovery that is percolating and being implemented in several states. Motivational Interviewing is a core practice method in the coaching movement.

Further demonstration of our impact and good work. Congratulations to our colleagues, Rick, Pat, Dru, and Sherry for their important work.

Terry