December 1, 2019
This time of year, always brings up two thought provoking questions for me. The first question: “What am I thankful for?” gets asked as my family gathers around the table to partake in the Thanksgiving feast. The second question: “What gift would you like?” gets asked when a family member is trying to come up with an idea of what to give me for Christmas. As I ponder these questions, material items never seem to come to mind. Instead, I answer both questions with one word—time! I am very thankful for the time I have spent with family and friends to create memories. I ask my family for the gift of their time where they can offer their service to complete a task at my home.
As I look ahead and lead WSGNA into 2020, I have the same thoughts. I am thankful for the time I have spent with other members planning events and networking at conferences. I know great memories have been created! I am asking that others gift their time to complete the tasks of our organization. I was fortunate to attend the 2019 Regional Leadership Conference held at SGNA headquarters in Chicago in early November. I was inspired by other regional leaders who shared their strategies and best practices to maintain and increase their region’s membership. However, I am aware this all occurred because someone volunteered their time.
SGNA President, Lea Anne Myers, titled her presentation “Increasing Your Team’s Effectiveness” and spoke about how each member on a baseball team plays a vital role to their team’s success. She compared these roles to each member on a board of directors and discussed how each position is accountable to fulfill a vital role for the organization. Assigning the right task to the right person with the right skill set to fulfill their role provides value and increases the board’s effectiveness as a whole. Also starting with the passion for the role you volunteered for is an advantage. Lea Anne was honest and did admit procrastination was her weakness but knew she had other board members that kept her on task. For those of you who know me well, you know I am not always timely at completing my tasks for WSGNA. Being timelier with completing WSGNA tasks is one goal I am setting for myself moving forward. The board of directors will be reviewing our board positions to see if these roles meet the strategic plan of our regional organization. I foresee some changes coming up especially since we did not get anyone to run for President-Elect in 2019.
Improving communication with members was another common theme of those leaders who inspired me at the SGNA leadership conference. Mary Pearce, Michigan’s Regional President, showed how they are using SGNA Communities to improve communication amongst their members. They save meeting minutes and other documents like newsletters in folders where all their regional members have access. I would like to see our region utilize this communication tool as well. It will be a topic discussed at our first board meeting in 2020.
SGNA Communities was one way a member of our region reached out to volunteer. I was so excited and thankful to Amy Schultz for asking the question—how can I get involved in my region and SGNA? Amy is an Associate who would like to network with other fellow Associates to share her knowledge and passion in GI while continuing to learn from others. This was a spark that reignited me and my passion for WSGNA. I am thankful to Amy for reaching out in this way!
I am looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish this next year! Hope everyone has a great holiday season.
Respectfully,
Amy Komp BSN RN CGRN
WSGNA President