By Shelley McCabe, CCRP, RCEP, FAACVPR | MARC Chair
In June, the AACVPR Membership and Affiliate Relations Committee (MARC) returned, in-person, to host the annual Affiliate Leadership Forum (ALF) in Chicago. Each year, the leaders of AACVPR affiliate societies around the country are invited to the event to network, collaborate on best practices and learn leadership skills. The sessions throughout the forum vary between presentations and roundtable discussions. This years’ topics included diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), strategic planning, membership growth, conference planning, succession planning and volunteer engagement/recruitment.
The forum was well received this year; many were grateful to be in person and meet other leaders from around the country. A good share of those in attendance were new to leading an affiliate program, and ALF provided the opportunity to get a true feel for the work they’ll be doing as part of their nascent responsibilities.
The conference welcomed the knowledge and support from AACVPR Board of Directors members. Executive Director Mollie Corbett and Immediate Past President Dean Diersing, MS, RCEP, EP-C, EIM3, CCRP, FAACVPR, shared their expertise on developing and implementing a strategic plan. President Amy Knight, PhD, ABPP, gave guidance on prioritizing DEI in our societies. We also learned about “imposter syndrome” from President-Elect Ash Walker and that it can happen to anyone, at any level.
In the evening, we enjoyed a fun networking event at Bub City with great food, drinks and conversation!
So many great takeaways were shared by participants, who left ALF with gratitude knowing that they’re not in it alone and with anticipation after discovering a community of AACVPR Affiliate Leaders they can continue to connect with on AACVPR Central.
We look forward to our next forum in 2023 and collaborating with enthusiastic affiliate leaders from around the country.
We also hope to rub elbows before then, at our Affiliate Leadership Luncheon taking place Thursday, September 22, at 12:00 pm as part of AACVPR’s 37th Annual Meeting in West Palm Beach, Florida.