As of last night, the interactive capabilities of the USAF website, www.usaikifed.com, are available to all USAF instructors and administrators with a log-in and password, allowing for direct private access to a dojo’s database. This will allow instructors to submit annual renewals online, mark members as paid, add new members, change member ranks when promoted, renew shidoin/fukushidoin certifications, submit seminar announcements etc. Any changes made to text, such as adding a new member, changing a last name, changing dojo phone numbers, can be saved directly to the database.  Any change that is associated with a fee (rank, renewals, dues etc) will be marked as pending until main office review and approval.  An automated email confirmation will be sent with the changes and fees in each “batch”  submitted.

In order to help familiarize the dojo administrators with this new program,  over the next few weeks several conference call tutorials will be scheduled as well as on-line instructional videos posted to our website.

This is a very exciting tool for USAF instructors to help manage their dojo membership, quickly and easily submit rank promotions, and maintain an updated, accurate list of inactive and active students and ranks, with all of the information at their fingertips at all times.  With 2013 only days away, the launching of this database promises to simplify our renewal process and all future administrative tasks for our members.

Laura Jacobs Pavlick

Director of Operations

The USAF extends its deepest sympathies to its members who have suffered hardship caused by Hurricane Sandy.  We hold you, your families, friends, and communities in our thoughts and our hearts.

To help support the recovery efforts, Yamada Sensei has made a $1,000 donation to the Red Cross.  In addition, the USAF Board members have contributed individually, and we ask that you follow this aikido spirit of generosity by making a donation as well.

In case you are not sure where to make your donation, below are various links found through reputable resources for your consideration. Thank you for your participation in helping those who now face many difficult challenges in their days ahead.

 Red Cross

Salvation Army

Save The Children

World Vision

The Humane Society of the United States

AmeriCares

Direct Relief International

Feeding America

The USAF would like to welcome the 5 new dojo that have joined us since the New Year. We look forward to working and training together, and thank them for their membership. They are:

Notting Hill Aikikai/Bermuda Aikikai
Chief Instructor: Anthea Pascaris
London, UK
url: www.nottinghillaikikai.co.uk

Providence Aikikai
Chief Instructor: David Halprin
Location: Pawtucket, RI
url: coming soon

Water’s Edge Aikikai
Chief Instructor: Margaret Bower
Location: Ganbrills, MD
url: coming soon

Myoho Aikido Vermont
Chief Instructor: Wassim Nehme
Location: N. Bennington, VT
url: coming soon

Newark Aikido
Chief Instructor: Derrell Thomas
Location: Newark, NJ
url: www.newarkaikidoonline.com

The USAF website has just added a new feature to the events calendar. You can now subscribe to receive updates on all new event postings, including postponements and cancelations.

No more scrolling through the long list of seminars to see if anything new has been added or changed. There’s now an easy solution – simply visit www.usaikifed.com/events and add your email address to the event update feed box. You will then be emailed an automated notice detailing the most recent changes to the calendar. We hope you enjoy this latest improvement to the website.

Dear Chief Instructors and Dojo-cho:

As we approach the end of winter, it is time to remind you about the USAF annual renewal deadline, as well as provide a general administrative update on some of the exciting projects that will come to fruition this spring.

RENEWALS: Please remember that all annual USAF dojo renewals, individual dues, and shidioin and fukushidoin fees are due by April 1st. Late fees will apply if post-marked after this date. The forms and information are in the renewal packages that were mailed to each dojo, as well as being posted on the website through the login portal.

SUMMER CAMP: The planning for Summer Camp 2012 is well under way. All camp information and online registration should be ready to launch sometime in mid-March. Please make sure to join our USAF Summer Camp Facebook page to keep up with the latest camp news, including raffle and scholarship details.

ANNUAL REPORT: This spring, the second official USAF annual report will be compiled and circulated, reflecting information from 2011.

WEBSITE/DATABASE: The project for revising the USAF website, www.usaikifed.com, was divided into 2 phases. Phase 1 of the project was completed last year, and the site now reflects many of the upgrades in both design and functionality. Phase 2 is well under way, and a tentative completion time is mid-spring. In addition to other improvements, a few of the upgrades for an instructor/administrator include:

• Access his/her dojo members information
• Submit new ranks by modifying student records
• Add new students
• Mark students as inactive
• View member list by active students, inactive students, or all
• Create a form to electronically submit these changes
• Edit and compile member data, including addresses, phone numbers, email, professions etc.

There will also be a fee associated with each transaction (member dues $35, kyu rank $35, etc) to assist with calculating the total fees that will then be charged to the credit card on file (recorded in the database as well), or the check/money order that will be mailed in. The instructor/administrator will then receive a confirmation email with an excel spreadsheet containing the submitted modifications for their records.

This exciting upgrade will benefit not only instructors, but their students as well. Instructors will have easy access to all their students’ USAF information through one centralized database, allowing for a much smoother administrative and submission process. A more comprehensive collection of data will help assure that fewer errors occur, and therefore the student’s status will be accurate and current.

EVENTS PAGE: With regards to the events calendar, there will be 3 improvements.

• First, and available to the public, will be the ability to subscribe to the events page through an RSS feed. This will allow anyone to receive an email alert which contains the information every time a seminar has been added or a change has been made. This will enable you to know what new seminars have been posted at any given time. The email alerts will also include any seminar that is canceled or postponed.

• The second upgrade will be the addition of a “sub-page” for each event. The calendar will list the events, as it does now, but there will be a “view details” tab that will bring you to a sub-page for that specific event. The sub-page will contain the seminar information, dates and time, a downloadable pdf of the flier if one was submitted, a description section, and address and link of the host dojo. The sub-page can also be “shared”, such as posted to FB, twitter, etc.

• The third upgrade to the events page will be an instructor’s ability to fill in the data fields and the detailed sub-page, and submit their own events. This will be also be simple process and will require a login and password.

All of the information that is modified and submitted, whether for a member, a dojo, or an event, will be through an automated form, without actually touching the true data. The “super administrator,” who is currently the Director of Operations, must “accept” the proposed changes in order for the data to actually be modified.

As you can see, this spring will bring with it many new and exciting things for our membership. Though these projects may vary in scope, their unifying goal is to enhance the experience of being a USAF member, member dojo, and instructor.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, and I will keep you posted as these features become available.

Sincerely yours,

Laura Pavlick
Director of Operations

The USAF 2012 Renewal Packages have been mailed! All information is available online for instructors with your login and password. Other than the recent increase in 5th and 6th dan, all fees remain the same, along with the April 1st renewal deadline. Please contact the USAF administrative office if you have any questions as you proceed. Thank you for your continued support and membership.