Have you ever had a monkey on your back? It’s a classic idiom that refers to having a huge responsibility that seems like it won’t ever go away. Meet Albert, the official monkey of SASHTO. The tradition of the SASHTO monkey began in 2000 in Louisiana when Toni Daigle bought the SASHTO monkey for her boss, Joe Baker. The SASHTO monkey has been handed down to each state since then. Each SASHTO planner spends the year leading up to the SASHTO conference with the monkey figuratively on their back, essentially serving as a parent to this cute stuffed monkey. In 2006, Albert went to Huntsville, Alabama – home to the NASA facility where much of America’s space program has been planned – there he was named Albert in honor of the first monkey sent into space. Alabama Chair, Lamar S. “Bubba” Woodham, Jr. taught Albert to read, type and use the Internet, so Albert – a.k.a. “Bubba Jr.” – began his very own blog. Currently, Albert is in Florida preparing for the 2008 meeting. Albert will use his blog to provide valuable inside information about SASHTO. Check Albert’s blog often for the latest inside information about SASHTO.