by Megan Patterson, IABC/Tulsa President
Holiday cards are ordered, gifts are purchased and my stretchy pants are easily accessible. Christmas prep is nearly complete. But Christmas is one thing…preparing for a new year is quite another.
Most people love the start of a new year. I’m typically one of them. But what if the current year was really great? Do we always have to be so ready to move on? Personally, I need a little more time to step back, reflect and thank the people who helped make 2016 a year to remember.
It’s been a year of firsts for IABC/Tulsa, and a year that our board and membership should be proud of. Our professional development schedule was jam packed with high-caliber events such as February’s inbound marketing luncheon with Jesse Boudiette of Propeller Communications; September’s meeting with Rhett Laubach on presentation secrets; and the November Communicators Summit focused on reputation management. In March, we held our annual Bronze Quill Awards ceremony where we received the highest number of award entries and had the highest attendance in IABC/Tulsa history. August brought IABC/Tulsa’s first Adult Spelling Bee(r) with more than 50 participants and a packed house. So F-U-N!
IABC/Tulsa also was internationally recognized for its outstanding work in communications and professional development at the annual IABC Leadership Institute in February. More recently, we held our annual Gift of Communication event and we joined forces with Tulsa’s top professional organizations at the Acronym Mixer networking event.
I could keep going, but I’ll stop here. See why it’s difficult to say goodbye to 2016? These successes wouldn’t have been possible without our IABC/Tulsa board of directors. These dedicated volunteers choose to give their time to IABC/Tulsa in addition to their already busy work, family and life schedules – and for that, I’m so very thankful.
Happy holidays from all of us at IABC/Tulsa, and cheers to many new adventures in 2017!