Greetings,
Starting this letter with three relevant numbers: 11, 23, 40. More on this later.
Each October, we celebrate our new fiscal year by welcoming new and returning board members. WID Michigan has staggered two-year board terms for our four officers and seven board members, which enables continuity and fresh ideas.
We also welcome twenty-three advisors which support our board. Advisors are WID Michigan’s version of super-members. (We really need to invest in branded WID superhero capes.) Advisors are members who have committed to playing a substantial role, and many eventually join the board or have previously served on the board.
One commonality among our board and advisors – they are generously giving their time and talent because they care about WID Michigan. As the incoming President of our chapter, I’m incredibly proud to serve alongside them.
One advisor requires very special mention. Elizabeth Gomez is our immediate Past President. For the last two years, she enthusiastically guided our chapter through a very difficult time. Running a membership organization when face to face contact must be avoided is a tremendous challenge. She persevered, building a strong foundation for future growth. Elizabeth is not only one of my close friends – she is a friend to our industry. Please raise a glass and join me in a toast to her incredible service.
Your chapter is one of the most active in the country, and the second largest in terms membership. We will become number one, with your help. We are 40 members shy of being number one in both categories. Please – check to see if your membership needs renewal. Maybe it expired and you didn’t notice. And if you are active and current, please share the organization with your defense industry peers. If you need help, email membership@wid-mi.org.
As we look forward to the coming year, we intend to continuously ask two questions:
- How can we expand our reach to new members?
- How can we creatively enhance organizational value to our members?
Our board and advisors might even get sick of these questions. Our programming is really, really, really impressive. But we will still challenge ourselves with these questions to ensure the time our volunteers spend on these time-consuming events matters to our membership.
Back to our numbers.
We have 11 brilliant, generous defense professionals who serve as officers and board members.
23 more brilliant, generous superheroes advise our board.
And with 40 more members, we will be the largest chapter in the country.
Sue Tellier, President