Category: Letter from the President

February is the month of love! Plato classified the love of friends and equals as Philia, and that describes our chapter so beautifully. Many start their EWI journey for strictly business reasons, and they stay in EWI because of the close relationships that they form. I, for one, am so grateful for the experience I’ve gained through EWI, but even more grateful for the people I have met.

2021 is here! We have all been ready for 2020 to end. I have so much hope for the upcoming year. While we all know that it will take some time for things to get back to “normal,” I have no doubt that 2021 will be better. But, for some of our member firms and representatives, the economic realities of today are very challenging. Now, more than ever, we need to live out our EWI mission of bringing together key individuals from diverse businesses for the purpose of: promoting member firms, enhancing personal and professional development, and encouraging community involvement.

As we come to the close of 2020, I am reminded of the fragility of life, health, and economic stability. I am also encouraged by the resiliency of human beings and our capacity for hope. Our Chapter representatives have experienced a lot of loss this year. It is comforting to know that belonging to an organization like EWI is a positive and important factor in our resiliency. We are social creatures, and being a part of a community like EWI is good for our mental health, in addition to being good for business. Even introverts like me benefit greatly by having strong connections and through focusing on helping others.      

Did anyone else’s mood soar while Dr. Aaron McMurray addressed our scholarship winners last month? He exuded positivity and it was contagious.  I’m so grateful we have people like him in our world to bring hope and enthusiasm.  Personally, I tend to fall on the pragmatic spectrum and I have to actively work on positivity. This year it seems especially challenging to be optimistic with the pandemic and with election fever all around.

A Zoom meeting for the board installation? Check. A Zoom meeting for the board retreat and training? Check. A Zoom meeting coming up for our Scholarship Banquet? Check. With so many Zoom meetings, it was emotionally fulfilling to visit with some of our representatives at Beacon Hill Catering & Events last week. This event refilled my proverbial cup and I think it was the same for everyone who attended. The sun shined and smiles beamed as we enjoyed each other’s company.

It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve this year; your kindness has been overwhelming. The dedication and love you all have for our EWI of Spokane Chapter and each other is simply heartwarming. I hope as we wrap up our EWI year, you are inspired to keep doing great things for this chapter and for YOU!

What a wonderful zoom meeting and scavenger hunt this past month – thank you to our programs committee! It was joy to see all of your beautiful smiles and laughter filling the screen!

Love the space you’re in… it will inspire you and uplift you!

Everywhere around us right now, there are signs — signs of love, sharing hope, togetherness — it sure does make the tough times more bearable.

March 2020 was one of the most difficult, most challenging months our chapter’s individual representatives, our member firms, not to mention our cities, counties, states, country, and world has experienced. Some of us have dealt with sudden loss, rapid change, layoffs or furloughs, different working environments, and/or working on the frontlines of the pandemic battle in addition to other struggles that crop up in life. When you feel like you’re on shaky ground and you’re tempted to fear, worry, get angry, be anxious or irritable, etc., remember:

LOVE ENDURES ALL THINGS

STAY CURIOUS! I’ve heard this recently and thought – I LOVE IT! It’s so perfect when we talk so much about being continual learners, enjoying professional development, understanding data, watching a YouTube video to better understand a topic, etc. What does it mean to you when you hear “Stay Curious?”

Happy New Year!

Huge shout out to Steam Plant and Annette Long for a wonderful EWI holiday celebration, it was perfect. Congratulations to our winners of the Trivia and sweater content – the ugly/Christmas sweaters were amazing and inspiring! Much appreciation to all of you for your love and generosity for this year’s ASIST winner and family. What you did to provide for them was heartwarming.

It’s easy to get caught up in the celebrations, finding the perfect gift, baking cookies, visiting family, traveling… the list goes on.  How are you spending your 24 hours – that’s 1,440 minutes – you have in each day?

Many thanks to Beacon Hill for hosting our meeting last month and to Katie for leading us through our speed networking – so fun to get to know each other even more. The energy and enthusiasm in the room was contagious!

As we enjoy this season of giving, and being grateful and thankful, I have much love and appreciation for all of you!

It is with much appreciation for our friends at Spokane Convention Center that I share a huge shout out for our incredible September installation meeting on their gorgeous roof deck, where the clock tower so beautifully stood behind us; the lunch was perfect and the company even better.