This year’s Southern Region annual general meeting was somewhat of an eye-opener.

We finished the routine end-of-year talk in about 25 minutes. Then we opened up the session for discussion about most anything. That’s when it got real.

Chapter leaders across the region asked questions and shared ideas – about ways to engage volunteers, program topics and you name it. Everyone got into it.

To me, it hit home how IABC people are such a collegial bunch. IABC people love to hear new thoughts and share what works.

This year’s region board recognized that and built on it. A year ago, we chose to position ourselves as go-to resources for chapter leaders and as a vehicle for sharing professional development programs. We raised awareness of what the region can do for chapters and members at large. We recruited a full slate of chapter liaisons, redid the website to share PD content, led a dynamic in-person leader summit and held our first regional conference in two years.

This coming year you’ll see more sharing: regular Zoom calls for chapter leaders, our connect2comms conference in October (in Greenville, S.C.), connect2comms webinars and an expanded website with more PD sharing.

So we thank all volunteer leaders, from your chapter to our region board, for their hard work and in particular for their willingness to help each other and seek new ways of doing things. Thank you for volunteering in any capacity, because you are contributing in ways that will last for generations. As my term ends, there’s nothing more gratifying than that.