Greetings Apra Carolinas Chapter!

Most of us wanted to rush through 2020, certain that 2021 would undoubtedly be a better and brighter year. Here at your local Apra Carolinas chapter, each year we strive to make sure that every year is better than the last, and this year is no different. As your new president, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate the successes of the past year and tell you a bit about what we are planning for the year ahead.

First and foremost – I want to welcome back the wonderful Apra Carolinas board. Most of the faces are the same as last year, but we have shuffled the deck a little. Our fabulous leader from the past two years, Merissa Lawson, has stepped into the Immediate Past President role, allowing yours truly, Jennifer Vincent, to become President. You may know her best for her hilarious GIFs, but the fantastic Allison Kiglics has agreed to become President-Elect for the next two years. Fear not, there will be plenty of GIFs still coming your way as Communications now falls into the very capable hands of Emily Glesias. Membership questions can still be directed to the ambitious Daniel Moody; the ever-witty Rachael Dietrich Walker will continue to bring outstanding content through her role as Education Chair; the ever reliable Mimi Slade is keeping us on track through her role as Secretary; and Emily Hinz, our terrific Treasurer, will process your invoices before you even knew you wanted to register. Sitara Smith will continue to share her insightful ideas through her role as the SC Regional Representative, and we are thrilled to welcome the dynamic Amy Jackson to the board as the NC Regional Representative, where she can share her vast acumen with all of us.

Looking back at 2020, I want to thank our amazing board and speakers for the Ross Geller style PIVOT in February/March that led to our first ever Virtual Spring Conference. I would also like to extend a huge thank you to our incredible members who pivoted with us and gave the board excellent feedback through session surveys and membership surveys. We heard what you were saying and applied your insights to the Virtual Fall Conference in October – which was a huge success, by all accounts. We have been chatting it up one morning a month at our Virtual Coffee Chats and we are excited to offer more of those with some additional virtual networking opportunities in 2021.

Looking ahead, we have exciting plans for 2021!

You can plan on a virtual spring conference, but this one will be bigger and better than ever. That is all the teaser we will share right now, but get excited, it’s going to be grand! Let’s all cross our fingers as we start planning an in-person fall conference in 2021 – can you believe it? Of course, nothing is set in stone, but we’re working toward getting the band back together for a reunion tour. We will offer up some additional webinar content throughout the year and hope to have a couple of surprises up our sleeves. 

As always, reach out to any of us – or the chapter email – with any questions or requests, and we look forward to sharing another magnificent year with all of you.

Jennifer Vincent

President, Apra Carolinas