True Confessions of a Former co-President.
What a year it has been.
There have literally been times where I’ve had to ask myself – “Coming
or Going?” Does it really matter
anyway?
You betcha!
There is literally the tail end of a sunset just outside on
my balcony – one of those beautifully
decadent, swirly clouded affairs with just a sliver of moon. Surely it is a sign that Van Gogh himself
may have had a hand in stirring this one up.
But oh, let me count the ways in which this year has
literally flown by.
Our Austin/San Antonio ASMP chapter is on a definite growth
curve – it seems to be the nature of an all-volunteer organization that there
will be ebbs and flows to its life and vitality.
John Langford and I were privileged enough to hold the reigns
through one of the growth cycles of our chapter.
Being co-leaders may not be for everyone, but John and I are
unanimous in saying that for us, it made the workload bearable. We were very fortunate to have the same work
ethic and “get it done” nature. No
doubt about that, but we also brought to the table two very different
sensibilities.
It was invaluable to have a colleague who was your equal and
shared the responsibilities of making some challenging decisions.
One of the things that I love about the collaborative
process is that we each bring to the table our own set of experiences and
talents. When we join these together,
it works to create a more informed and yes, creative decision. Synergy.
I’ve had people question my sanity for taking on a seemingly
thankless job but you know, every time that I do something like this, I always
learn so much and get so much more than I give.
We’ve
turned the reins over to our next leadership team and I remain on the board
through this year. I’m excited to see
what it next. If you want to get
involved, volunteer. It is a sure way
to begin to understand yourself and others.
And if you want to learn, teach someone else. You’d be surprised what you find out.
Here are my final remarks to John from our end of the year
party. How could I pass up one last
chance to have something to say?
To my fellow board members: Thank you for this past year and a half of service. Our hard work has paid off and this chapter
is growing. This has truly been a team effort and I thank you for that!
To my fellow females
– thank you for being here! You
all have no idea how many times it was just me with all these guys and I love
them but the older I get, the more I realize that we ladies MUST stick together
– for our own sanity.
Dear John:
They say that breaking up is hard to do, but I’ve also
heard that if you do it in public it is less likely that someone will cause a
scene.
So here we go:
In the past year and a half on the board you and I have
gone from
Not knowing each other to:
Sharing clothes
Sharing vacations
And running this chapter.
Our chapter has almost doubled in size; we have presented
such programs as:
Digital printing workshop at K2 press
Assistants’ Workshop
Jack Reznicki
Katrin Eisman
Chapter leadership workshop with Todd Joyce
Leslie burns D’ell Aqua
Stephen Johnson
DAM2 workshop
Did I leave anything out?
I am honored to have spent this last year and a half
working with you and this last year in leading the chapter with you. It has truly been a team effort and a
synergistic combination. You were always there!
We all applaud all that you have done.
We want to send you away with a few things that may be
helpful in this post volunteer Co President life that you will now lead – the
witness protection anonymity that all past presidents strive for while they
refocus on their paying profession…
