It's important to recognize the people around you that have made a difference for you in your professional life. I had the privilege of doing just that earlier this week during the NC SGMP Annual Conference in Whispering Pines, NC. I awarded 6 people the President's Award for NC SGMP. I am eternally grateful for all their hard work and couldn't think of more deserving people.
Diana McCullers led me through the year and answered all my burning questions. Her wisdom and guidance has been so important and helped make this board successful this year. She knows exactly when to step in and offer advice and when to let me figure things out. I am grateful for her willingness to remain an active member of this chapter after having served in the role of president. Having gone through just one year I know the kind of hard work and dedication it requires. So thank you!
Myron Jones has come in during a clutch moment for me. I worked with a speaker last summer to speak about what to do in the event of an active shooter. Well, when it came time for him to speak he had retired and I was not able to obtain contact information from him. However, I knew that I could count on him to help me with a last minute speaker and he did. As a result, we’ve made a new contact with a fantastic speaker. We loved her so much that we invited her back to this conference. Thank you to Myron Jones for stepping in during a crucial time and making our trip to Fayetteville a success!
Kerri Voelker deserves a big thank you for her critical thinking and perspective. She is the right amount of thoughtful and outspoken. I am always so impressed about the questions that she asks me during meetings. She never lets me run off track with an idea without first fleshing out the details and exploring the impact to the entire chapter. I am so grateful for her questions, and she's not afraid to "check" me from time to time. Her ability to tactfully pose a question is so appreciated, as well as her willingness to step up and become the chair of the community service committee when the position was temporarily vacated earlier in the year. She did this with grace and I couldn't have asked for a better person to help out when in need.
Tarshi McCoy has only recently rejoined the chapter, but I am so glad that she did. Upon rejoining she immediately volunteered to chair the SREC Committee for sponsorship, or maybe she was “voluntold” as we like to say. In either case, I am incredibly grateful. While I know that I may have strong-armed her into doing this, she accepted and was willing to help out the chapter as we embark on something that is uncharted for us as a chapter. Although it hasn't been easy for her to manage something she's never taken on before I know she has and will continue to do an excellent job representing NC SGMP. Thank you to Tarshi McCoy for your dedication.
Lori Schwarze is an unsung hero for this chapter. One of my first chapter calls for help was because of a near collapse of the fundraising committee. I referred to her in a chapter wide email as a one woman show. She hasn’t let me down since. With every task she takes on she continues to surprise me with her perseverance. We could not have survived this year without her creativity and dedication to bolstering funds to keep us afloat. A big thanks to Lori Schwarze!
Cindy Lee is probably the other half of my brain when I forget it some days and I’m so glad she is. She is my backup and my partner in crime both with SGMP and at work. Her willingness to step up and pick up the pieces that I drop along the way is an incredible gift to me. When pregnancy brain got the best of me she somehow read my mind. When I had too many balls in the air she took one from me and thus allowed me to continue to look good to everyone on the outside looking in. I couldn’t have survived what has been a very eventful and oftentimes stressful year without her. I am indebted to her for a long time, and I don’t know that I can ever repay her for the things she has done. Thank you to Cindy Lee!