On May 14-15, Tracy Rogers, project manager for the Western Mass. COAD project, attended the National VOAD conference in Indianapolis. She attended workshops listed under the “LEAD – Leadership, Engagement, and Development” track of the conference. These workshops provided information on how to start up new VOADs and COADs, whether a VOAD should consider becoming a 501(c)(3) organization, governing structures, and how to develop leaders with your VOAD. The most valuable piece of information Tracy picked up was the announcement of a new set of resources on the National VOAD website under this LEAD program. The website contains template documents such as bylaws, articles of incorporation, mutual aid agreements, and an emergency operations plan—just the kind of documents our western Mass COADs have been working through over the past year. Tracy intends to make full use of these resources, as well as the contacts she made while at the conference, to enhance the COADs in western Mass.