It’s true. 2020 has officially (finally) left the building! But, while hope is on the horizon, it appears it may still be some time before many of us are let back into any actual buildings.
Although we are an organization that thrives on social gatherings, PPRS has done what it can to maintain virtual connections this past year. Thank you all for your patience! For 2021, the Leadership Team has agreed to a few temporary adjustments as a remotely operating organization:
- Meeting Costs: Because we are not covering meals or venue costs, we will adjust virtual meeting costs to $15 for non-members, and $5 for students and members. We will not be offering the first-time attendee option for 2021, but if you would like to sponsor a student or colleague to attend, we encourage you to do so and hope that the lower cost will encourage others to join us.
- New Member Voting: Voting to induct new members will occur during the monthly meetings only, with the member candidate presented in the previous month’s newsletter for the membership’s consideration.
- Streamlined Volunteer Roles: This year, you will notice a smaller list of volunteers on our 2021 Leadership Team. Many of these individuals have agreed to take on virtual programming and promotional responsibilities for one month in addition to their role.
- Trying New Things: We will also be experimenting with:
- Breakfast Meetings: While many of you prefer the last Thursday night of the month, we have also heard from others that it’s too tiring to get on another Zoom call after a long virtual day. We’ll be mixing it up to provide options.
- Interactive Meetings: We will explore the use of breakout rooms and more interactive meeting ideas.
- Added Value: We know we’ve lost some membership value without in-person meetings, so we will explore other ways we can provide it to members (e.g., resume/interview coaching session).
- National Speakers: With the local strings for participation cut loose, we can bring our members some national speakers. So, everyone comb your networks and email us if you have any great ideas!
I want to thank the 2021 Leadership Team and Executive Committee for embracing these changes to help simplify and make our organization more accessible in the current environment. I hope that you will all consider attending at least one event in 2021 to stay connected with your peers and continue to learn with us. As always, we are open to your feedback and would love to hear from you anytime.
Thank you, and happy new year!
Christine Cronkright
2021 PPRS President