Hello, Goodbye?

By Michael Harvey, Chapter President

Last year I began a journey of personal and professional reinvention. For that reason, I made reinvention the theme of my chapter presidency.

We developed programs with this theme because I was convinced that we needed to understand the trends having an impact on our profession. Through reinvention, we could avoid dangers, identify opportunities, and make good decisions about where we, as communication professionals, best fit in a global economy. You responded by turning out for our programs in large numbers. “Don’t Offshore Me” was one of our best attended sessions even though we held it early on a Saturday morning. Despite rising gasoline prices, visitors from miles away came to our meetings. The interest, enthusiasm, and energy that you displayed at our gatherings were encouraging and gratifying.

We reinvented how we used the web to collaborate and innovate. We started a chapter LinkedIn group for members and a Facebook group for anyone interested in our community. The Facebook group attracted the attention of individuals as far away as Ireland and as close by as NC State University. The intent was to open new lines of communication and ideas, and the hope was that it would inspire new membership. We need to continue our exploration of Web 2.0.

Reinvention is difficult but rewarding. It’s difficult because breaking old habits and forming new ones require considerable effort. It’s rewarding because you feel energized whenever you attempt new things. Reinvention is a lifelong pursuit that requires discipline and mindfulness. As I’ve said many times, our business is changing, whether we like it or not. Change with it — be in charge of your personal change. Take advantage of opportunities for reinvention by becoming more active in STC.

There will be lots of ways to become more active in our chapter during the coming year. Our incoming president, Jenna Moore, is going to emphasize building our community during her term. I’m excited by her ideas to make volunteering more attractive and workable, and I look forward to the Vision Day she’ll host. I look forward to seeing you there and hearing your thoughts.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to serve our chapter as president. I’ll continue to serve in other ways, helping a new set of leaders bring distinction to our community.

Michael can be reached at mtharvey at yahoo dot com.