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| Heidi Thumlert |
The Adventure Continues
What an adventure we have been on for the last three and one-half years. On behalf of the committee, I want to thank everyone who attended a summit, participated in a webinar, took the time to be on a teleconference, send emails, were willing to talk on the phone and invited us to your board meetings and retreats. Together we reimagined a more collaborative, more engaged and repurposed CAAEYC! We can be very proud of the work that we did together.
The National Dialogue Committee sunsets on June 30. As part of the new Chapter structure, the Chapter Relations and Development Committee is being established. This committee will be chaired by the Past President of CAAEYC Board and will be a permanent part of the State Board structure. Many of the members of National Dialogue will be a part of that committee in the beginning to help with the transitions.
On a personal note I want to thank the members of the committee, those of you who helped us get started and then remained our cheering section even though you were not able to stay. We are grateful. To the following people whose tenacity and wisdom are beyond amazing:
- Fran Chasen, the best Assistant Chair ever. Thanks for all the brainstorm calls that helped break this large task into doable chunks.
- Jacque Sell, cheers to your ability to take ideas from the spoken to the visual.
- Cary Larson-McKay, keeping us focused on the big picture.
- Adria Taha-Resnick, your encouraging voice and willingness to jump in where needed.
- Jenny Chen, the best supporter ever, your position on Affiliate Council helped us keep perspective and know we were on the right track.
- Ginger Swigart, what a gift to have been able to have a member of NAEYC National Dialogue Committee serve with us.
- Michelle Soltero, your past experience as CAAEYC President when we went through restructuring before was so helpful and kudos to your work with our new emerging Chapter, Inland Empire.
To our CAAEYC Staff:
Tons of thanks for the research and data that Michele Holcomb and Brandie Delaney were able to get us.
Deidre Bryant, how fortunate we were to be able to be have our Executive Director come with prior experience in helping an Association "reimagine.” You have been an invaluable part of the team. We could have not done this as successfully without you.
Regions Reps:
Thank you for all the meetings you held, all the phone conversations you had and best of all the listening that you did. This process was about member voice and you were an important part of that.
I feel fortunate in having had the opportunity to Chair this committee and having the chance to work with such extraordinary people. All of us together share the passion for wanting CAAEYC to be the best it can be. I believe we are on our way!