In Honor of Association Volunteers

I just spent three hours with a group of chapter leaders of Capitol Assn Diabetes Educators in a small conference room in Fairfax, VA. I had only met them by phone once prior to this. I was coming in to talk about a significant change that was part of a national restructure plan. They greeted me warmly. They wanted me to be first in line for dinner. They put me pretty much at the front end of the agenda so I could scoot out when done. That was very nice. It’s what happened when the conversation started that had me in awe.

They listened intently. They asked great questions. They challenged assumptions. They began asking what if … This group of women approached the conversation with professionalism and with what I could clearly see was a member-centric view. Wow. These ladies impressed me. It also impressed me to know that they fought the awful Washington DC traffic to attend the board meeting. Three who couldn’t stayed with the conversation – which lasted more than an hour – by phone.

Listen up. There are tens of thousands of member volunteers in cities across the US who give this dedication. They are the face, the passion, the soul of our associations. Let’s give them an incredible round of applause.