Does anyone else feel like we zoomed past spring straight into summer? I planted a garden in spring—peppers, tomatoes, squashes, green beans—it barely got going before the heat set in. I’m not sure if I’ll get much of a tomato crop this year, and darn because homegrown tomatoes are the best! I’ll tell you this, I am going to savor what I do harvest. My favorite way to eat them is to slice them fresh, drizzle some good olive oil and balsamic vinegar, top with salt and pepper—delicious! I’m not sure why I’m writing about vegetables other than it’s a Saturday and I’m at home and planning on having some tomatoes for dinner. This is the thought at the front of my mind, so I’m going with it!

Big sigh now, as it’s been quite a year. It’s my last month as your chapter President. We are celebrating this week at the year end Chapter Celebration. I am looking forward to the evening, of passing out awards, and sharing a last moment with this year’s board. When I look back a year ago, we had wrapped up our annual retreat—the time when the new board meets together for the first time and creates their plan for the next year. I had only been on the board for a year, so leading the group was intimidating, but I trusted my instincts and did my best to set out a successful course and give people the advice and resources to make it happen. We decided that events would return to in-person and that we would bring back our signature events of Leadership Bootcamp, Texas Education Conference, and regular networking. We decided that education events would be a mix of in person and virtual, as virtual meets people where they are and allows them to earn CEU credits easily. It was a great plan, and we were excited to get started.

Leadership Bootcamp was a success, we had a good turn out at our host’s TCEA event center, and our panel speakers were full of inspiration. But something happened between Leadership Bootcamp and TEC; we had the first Covid variant, delta, and our attendance numbers for TEC was low. This was difficult to come back from, our Education team worked so hard to bring an engaging and educational conference to our members. As I wrote in last month’s article, TEC has been shelved pending a reboot.
Other networking opportunities have proven difficult to execute due to slim sponsorships and low attendance. The new board is about to have their annual retreat and I’m sure this will be a topic discussed in much detail. How do we get members engaged? How do we come back from two years of isolation and inspire people to leave their home office and interact in person? I’m sure, like me, you have much love for this chapter. For the people in it, for the opportunities available, so I appeal to you now to make an effort. Get reinvolved in your industry, set some goals of new education, make this the year you get your CMP, lean into MPI THCC for the support and friendship you have missed. The new board will need you in big ways like volunteering on a committee and in the smallest of ways by just being present. I hope to see you at the chapter celebration and beyond, let’s do this!