I am honored to serve as the CoreNet Connecticut Westchester Chapter president, and would like to thank you, the membership, for placing your confidence and trust in me to serve as your President. I hope you will join me in the work ahead, as we strive to continue to build on the foundation laid by all past presidents and board members. We have an exciting couple of years ahead!
We owe a huge thank you to the Board of Directors for their dedication, service, and leadership over the past years, as well as to all our members for giving your time and talents to make the year a success.
I thank those of who have guided me, supported me, and educated me. And most of all I am thankful for all the wonderful friendships I have made in this association. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing President, Scott Tibbo.
As someone who has seen her share of Presidents come and go, I have learned by their examples you Leave the association better than you found it. I believe Scott did just that. Under the tremendous pressure to keep the Chapter strong through a global pandemic, Scott worked through the challenges and now leaves the Chapter in a better place.
The present success of the CT/W would not have been possible without his leadership and for all his contributions and the hard work that he put in these past two years. I think he deserves a round of applause!
There is much to be done as we begin to emerge from the pandemic. Our members have been deeply challenged, personally as well as professionally and it will be up to the membership to rebuild for the future of the association.
My main goal this year is to encourage our members to Make a Difference. I want us to be people who give back, who inspire our members to be more involved and to take on leadership roles.
I would like to see us reach out and encourage Young Leaders by becoming a mentor to those who have a passion to move forward in corporate real estate.
This past year, I had a front row seat to witness how leadership and teamwork come together for change and I have to say it is nothing short of inspirational to see how much is and can be accomplished.
I would like to measure us by setting attainable goals for the association:
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Programs: the program committee has been true to the mission and has provided fully developed programs over the last year. It will be a goal to set in advance a yearly calendar to Deliver high caliber programming to the member and have them posted on our website calendar of events.
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Membership: Increase membership renewals. The task of the membership committee is to have them review the communications timeline and ensure we are following best practices and remind members to renew throughout the year in a variety of ways. I would like to set a goal to increase renewals by 15% over the previous year.
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New Member Onboarding: I would like to roll out the welcome mat and make a great first impression. Oftentimes, successful onboarding ends up being the most effective retention tool to have! The goal here will be to engage with every new member with a personal welcome and make sure they are introduced to a host member at programs and networking events throughout year. The goal is to make sure the new member is encouraged and find those connections.
I also have some Aspirational Goals:
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Improve collaboration with affiliated organizations. Perhaps it is a meeting of the minds, or maybe co-sponsor an event. I would like to work to build bridges and improve influence in our northeastern communities.
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Focus on Inclusion. We have learned a lot over the past several years this importance of inclusion. The Chapter has worked hard to develop specific goals and measures to make sure we are inclusive. I would like to encourage the continuation of the development of specific activities that reach out and engage underrepresented populations in our membership by age, gender, race, geographic location, or physical and cognitive abilities. We are working hard to overcome unconscious bias, and to embrace our diversity. Leading by example, the CT/W Chapter’s goal will remain focused on providing opportunities of inclusion in the CRE profession. Perhaps the association requires an even more dramatic change, but I believe we are up to the challenge.
In the year ahead, we will be adding programming designed for the different stages of your career, virtual programming, and events held in collaboration with other chapters. We will bring something unique to our members that other organizations do not – an immediate connection with others who have the same jobs, issues, and challenges, and especially the focus on our industry. The one-on-one linking is incredibly valuable and should be respected and strengthened.
Thank you, members, for your continued participation and enthusiasm in our professional community, and sponsors for your incredible support and advice.
On behalf of our Board Officers, Board of Directors, and great staff, thank you for your membership and support. We promise to keep evolving to serve you, no matter what the new normal brings in 2022.
I begin with a lot of enthusiasm and the certainty to be proud of us and we can Make a Difference!