My Path from Volunteer to President

Tammy Bradley, CMP
MPI Toronto Chapter President
tammy.b@av-canada.com

I was volunteering with the MPI Toronto Chapter before I was even a member. My employer was the audio visual  sponsor for the Holiday Gala and I was told that I would be responsible for that event. Being both a new salesperson and new to MPI, I attended the committee meetings so that I could advise on AV solutions for that event. I did that for 2 years, before finally convincing my employer to support me in joining MPI Toronto.

When I commit myself to something, I am the type of person that jumps right in and will give it my all. I was asked  two years in a row to apply to Chair a committee but I said no.  It was important to me that I fully understood the MPI   Toronto Chapter and how all the committees worked before I took the leap to join the Leadership team.  By the time that I did, I became the Chair of TEC (Toronto Education Conference).  It was quite scary at first, as everyone was looking to me to provide them with direction.  Slowly but surely, with  the support of our Executive Director, Leslie Wright, I was able to figure it out. 

The Director role was the hardest for me -  I was first Director of TEC, then Director of Membership.  It was difficult to remove myself from the details and logistics of the committee.  I still participated in the work but not as much as I had previously.  As a Director, I was now part of the Board.  I did not say much my first couple of meetings;  I remember feeling like I was joining a conversation that had started months ago and I did not want to ask them to repeat themselves or waste time trying to catch me up.  However, by my second year, I finally figured it out and used my new found voice to create change and improve the MPI Toronto Chapter.

My favorite position was Vice President.  I held that position for 3 years and I would stay there forever if I could.  As Vice President, you are not affiliated with any specific committee.  The goal was to look at the Chapter as a whole, find the gaps and create a project to fill in those gaps.  I loved the strategical thinking that went with the position.  The Office of the Vice Presidents held focus groups which provided us with some amazing insight from both our current and past members, which aided us with communication strategies and membership retention. 

As President Elect, I was able to remain strategic, but also learned from Sandra Moniz (Immediate Past President) to help me understand the role of President.  Now that I am President of the MPI Toronto Chapter, I am doing my best to share our events and successes through videos on social media, while  trying to help our Directors and Vice Presidents to think more strategically to improve our Chapter. 

If you want to be in a position to change or improve the MPI Toronto Chapter, please speak with any member of our Board or Leadership Selection Committee – there’s a Networking event on October 17th, which is a great opportunity to meet other volunteers.  We would love to have you on our Leadership Team!