The opening of the 2022 board and chair application process got me thinking about all the things I’ve learned so far serving in leadership in our GMC chapter. What a heck of a year it has been so far!
First and foremost, it is a great way to meet more people and learn from them. There are people I’ve worked on projects with that I just would have not gotten to know on that level otherwise.
Less is more! I am acutely aware of how draining the past 72 weeks have been and as the situation continues how much strain that puts on our volunteers. That is why I experimented with a very focused and simple strategic plan. So, when thinking about what we do as a chapter, I’ve begun to strongly evaluate volunteer effort against our initiatives. We may not have capacity to do all the things we wanted or used to do and that’s ok!
Talk about a training ground for the skills you want to grow and expand in your career. Taking on different committees, working on governance and strategic planning and leading during an uncertain time like COVID has given me so much experience. I won’t lie and say that it hasn’t been stressful but there are initiatives I’ve taken on that I’ve had little experience in but learned and absorbed the feedback both positive and negative. It’s also ok to ask for help and try new things even if they don’t go to plan.
Leadership encompasses so many areas: member relations, marketing, sales and the list goes on and on. You get a crash course on what different areas of an organization can do and I have gotten to work with our volunteers to think through solutions in all of them!
I would encourage anyone to volunteer in some capacity. You get so much out of the time you can put in: https://greatermidwest.pcma.org/chapter-news/2022-call-for-gmc-board-nominations-is-now-open/ General volunteer signup will start this fall!
I can’t wait to see you all next month at our Awards Celebration. Sign up today to join us as getting a read on registration really helps our planning: https://greatermidwest.pcma.org/event/annual-awards-ceremony-and-celebration/
See you next month!
Molly Witges, CMP, DES
2021 GMC PCMA President
Maritz Global Events
Congrats to all our members celebrating an anniversary this month!
5 Year
Andrea Kielkiewicz
Nick Topitzes
15 Year
Tami Pundsack
Phil Wargowsky
Anthony Lopez
20 year
Sarah Mckinney
Cherai Lewis
30 year
Barbara Connell
Liz Erikson-Marnul
Angie Ranalli
