Happy President's Day!


"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."

- Abraham Lincoln

 

 

Good Day EWI!

 

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans...my heart broke a little last week when my flight from Toronto to Philadelphia was cancelled due to the severe snow storm, part of the awful Nor'easter that hit last weekend.  As such, I could not join Wendy Cowley and Kerry Feltenberg on the site inspection tours of hotels in Philadelphia or Arlington.  I was so looking forward to making that trip and visiting with Chapter representatives there.  I know Wendy and Kerry are expert evaluators though and will forward the best choices to Nancy Harrison, LCAM Site Selection Vice Chair for her and her committee to summarize and put forward to you for the member survey due this month.  Remember, "One Voice"...it is up to you the membership to decide where LCAM 2014 will be held, so please do take the time to cast your vote when invited to do so.

 

I did make it to Montreal though for a business meeting on Sunday/Monday and had the wonderful pleasure of watching the move, "Lincoln" on my flight home.  How wonderful that I watched it this week in particular with the State of the Union address on Tuesday, President's Day coming up on Monday and of course it is Black History month, not only celebrated in the US, but in Canada and the UK too.   In researching Black History Month I did not realize February was chosen because of Lincoln's birthday on the 12 February.  I learnt a lot from that movie and I am now rooting for Daniel Day Lewis to take home the Oscar for his mesmerizing performance.  Lincoln's presidency changed a nation and literally the world.  Such awe inspiring leadership from a man who had a vision of what the future could hold.  As Americans, you can look to him and be so proud.

 

We too have a lot to be proud of in EWI and I am so happy to have Benita Collins, Corporate Director serving with me on the Corporate Board this year!  Our first black Corporate Board member and she is a shining example of why diversity in our membership is so important.

 

I know a lot of you are sad at this time of year as not all member firms opt to renew for various reasons.  I am heartened though by the upbeat attitudes of those Chapter leaders who realize that our future state is cast simply by what we do each day.  They continue to make recruitment their top priority and while it is always sad to see valuable member firms not renew with EWI, I firmly believe that what we do offer will resonate with other new potential firms wanting to advance their firms and the skill sets of their employees.

 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of sitting in on the Career Development webinar with Heather Petherick.  Heather spoke to us about finding that "sweet spot" in your career and gave very valuable tools on how to better find meaning and fulfillment in our day to day lives.  A great webinar that is now posted on our website for those of you unable to attend live.

 

Just a reminder that we have our first Annual report coming out next week and I am also hosting our first Open Forum call on Friday, the 22nd.  Please do join in!  I saw a draft version of the annual report and I literally had tears in my eyes as I read it through.  To have a vision and see it surpass your expectations is truly one of the most rewarding things my current position in EWI offers.  My fervent hope is that you too will love the report and use if for your recruitment and retention efforts.  I would like to offer my deepest thanks to Brittany Jones for taking on this project and running with it!

 

Speaking of R&R, I will be conducting a Chapter Development webinar on that very subject on Tuesday,  the 26February at 1pm MST.  I do hope you will attend!

 

One final comment for this week...please don't forget to register for Spring Conference in Chattanooga, April 18 - 20th.  Early bird registration ends on February 28th, so don't delay!  I look forward to seeing you there!

 

Have a wonderful weekend and holiday Monday!  For those of you in Alberta, have a great Family Day!

 

- K