Wow…. June….. the last month of my Presidency, and the world looks more different then anyone could’ve ever expected. My feelings are bittersweet, but mostly I am grateful. I am grateful to the 2019-2020 Board of Directors. Thank you for standing by my side in leading our great chapter. When you entered into your roles in June 2019, we would have never imagined the world would look this way. Thank you for your commitment, your leadership, your transparency, your honesty, and for helping me make some extremely hard, but right, decisions for our chapter.

Thank you to our volunteers. You, our volunteer members, are how we continue to grow and remain one of the best MPI chapters in the world. You give of your time, your expertise, and your heart to make sure our chapter and our members get the best we have to offer. You stretch your abilities and challenge us to do things differently. You force us to get outside of our comfort zone and grow. You STEP UP and volunteer. For you, I am forever grateful.

Thank you to our sponsors, both cash and in-kind. You see the value in giving back to our membership with your products and services. You continue to shine and impress our members. Everything you give allows us to grow and be the elite MPI chapter we are used to experiencing. We are so proud to have you as partners.

Thank you to the other members of my Office of the President. Erika Biddix, we will miss you on the board. Your insight and leadership is unmatched. The positive changes and hard decisions you’ve helped our chapter make are numerous. Jill Kopecky, take it away friend! I’m so excited to see you come into the Presidency and the positive impact you will continue to make. I couldn’t have done this without you.

Thank you to the long list of Past Presidents who have received many texts, emails, and phone calls from me over the course of the past year and answered all of my “What would you do?” questions. The blocks you’ve set for our chapter to continue to build upon are the core of MPI Tennessee. We lost one of our greats this year. Carol Norfleet will never be forgotten. Special thank you to Carol for being my angel both on earth and through this experience from above.

Lastly, but certainly not least, thank you to YOU our members. If you don’t fit into one of the above categories, you are who I am so grateful for right now. My favorite part of being an MPI leader is watching you discover our volunteer opportunities and grow in our community. As always, I welcome those conversations with you of how can you get outside of your comfort zone and make MPI Tennessee work for you and be part of your personal and professional story. Thank you for allowing me to lead your chapter.

To the 2020-2021 Board of Directors, I am so excited to face the new challenges head on with you. MPI Tennessee may change some of our events, our policies and procedures, our budget, and our “normal”. What we won’t change is the heart and the community in this organization. We still stand together to lead this family and make sure that now, more than ever, MPI Tennessee is a “heart thing, not a head thing”.