I am not very good at short stories, but here goes. And, it is a true story...
Hi All,
I am not very good at short stories, but here goes. And, it is a true story!
In the past few weeks, I have made two local "road trips" with Art Pann, CEO of Beacon Recruiters. But Art wears many other hats - including regional VP on the IMA global board who serves the Metro New York region. Art has long understood the value of community and of making lifelong friends, and local chapters are a critical cog in community building for our profession and our proud association. He has worked tirelessly to create passion and engagement at the council and chapter level which was the primary purpose of our local road trips.
Now, the road can often be bumpy. In route to meet with the New York Metro Council in the Bronx, we (along with Dena Botbyl, Supervisor - Community Support) had a flat tire. I was driving, but the roads were treacherous and icy my friends. In short, I got a flat tire with sleet falling. We did not panic. We even had some fun. As good risk managers, we immediately went to the trunk for the spare but decided we were clueless in terms of changing the tire (Dena was actually more confident). We still did not panic, and we drove very slowly a short distance and had the tire changed at a local service station. We made it to the NY Metro Council meeting with nearly two minutes to spare!
Is there a business side to this short story? Yes, but part of the "business" in being in an association with a 90+ year history is the community, the bonding, the feeling that you have made a friend for life.
I have said before, and actions speak louder than words, that IMA's network of about 200 chapters around the globe are critical to the success of IMA and our profession. While we have a winning spirit and are beginning to see growth, we can not succeed solely with the resources at "IMA Global" in Montvale, New Jersey. We need evangelists, we need ambassadors, we need folks at the local chapter level to be our "viral" local sales force in selling IMA - the benefits of volunteerism, of community, and of contributing to IMA's growth strategy.
It was volunteers who created this association 90+ years ago (and in some sense, the profession) and it is volunteers who will help sustain and inspire active engagement in our growing community.
Thanks,
Jeff