WOW, what a start to the summer this has been for me!
First the election of new chapter officers, then we had the privilege of hosting the Kansas Division Annual Meeting (KDAM), which was inspirational and a great success. The Power of Commitment and the Passion & Purpose were evident throughout the event. It definitely made me to think about what I could bring to the chapter in my new role.
Speaking of Passion & Purpose, that is exactly what the new board is striving to do for you this year. During the June 19 Board Retreat, we set goals and objectives to help chapter members embrace those words. The goals are easy to achieve and ones we have heard before - just look for us to put a different twist to them.
• Grow the chapter – we encourage everyone to share their own passion for what being a member of IAAP means to you. We plan to provide more of the business card invitations for you to hand out so you can bring your colleagues, businesses associates and friends to our meetings/seminars and workshops. We encourage you to belong to one of the social networking sites and tell others about IAAP. If we do not share the benefits of IAAP, our chapter will not grow. We need new members, new ways of thinking and communicating as well as new ways to share our knowledge to enhance our own skills and keep the passion alive.
• Retain our current members – we will strive to offer things to excite you and make you want to come back each month. We will challenge you and allow you to share/bring your fresh thoughts and ideas. We want to encourage you to stretch out of your comfort zones and get involved in our chapter so you can feel you have a purpose in the chapter and will want to embrace the passion.
• Increase Membership Certification – we will continue to assist you in becoming certified by offering educational topics that will be beneficial in your learning process. The board just approved the purchase of a new set of study books/guides and tools to assist you and our certification chair, Donna DeGarmo, CPS/CAP, by providing more current aides for use at the workshops and study groups. We are committed to helping you attend the four (4) Division educational programs, EFAM and our own educational seminar through financial assistance.
• Become a Chapter of Excellence (Every Year) – we will encourage and assist you in becoming a Member ofExcellence, which will benefit both you and the chapter. Our commitment to you will be to provide the necessary tools and opportunities to achieve that goal. Our promise will be to review the objectives from time to time and provide information to help you complete your form(s).
In my induction speech, I wished each of you a healthy life, to find great joy and to achieve career fulfillment. I also guaranteed being involved with the chapter would help you achieve all three of those wishes. The first step toward achieving them is to have FUN! We want your experience with the chapter to be fun as well as educational because having fun is just another way of displaying your passion.
Lastly, I said I would ask and expect each of you to step up to the challenge ahead of us this year and make acommitment to the Johnson County Chapter. I hope you have given some thought as to how you plan to challenge yourself this year. The board is ready – are you?
Ceci Cook, President
Johnson County Chapter IAAP