For many of you, July 1st may not have been any big deal. It may have meant you were one day closer to your 4th of July weekend. Perhaps it was the start of your schools fiscal year, and that miniscule raise the administration had been promising everyone finally came to fruition. Maybe you remembered you had a car payment to make.
For me, July 1st meant the official ‘start’ to my term as President of HAPS. Gulp. As President-elect, I spent the last year participating in HAPS Board meetings, taking on additional responsibilities, and learning more about the workings of the organization. This past year was very helpful for me to learn more about what a good president does and how a good president leads (thanks, Dee!). Now that it is my time to lead this organization that I hold near and dear to my heart, my thoughts are “Gee, I hope I don’t screw anything up!” Seriously. I really don’t want to go down as the president who destroyed HAPS. Will I become the Warren Harding or Calvin Coolidge of our organization? Have I just aged myself by mentioning Harding and Coolidge? Where did I put my keys? Where was I? Oh yes, the start of my term as HAPS President.
As president, I have several goals for HAPS – the first of which is to not mess it up. 🙂 I also want to expand an educational research focus in our organization, both in our meetings and in our publications. I would like to get more of our HAPS members involved in regional and national meetings. We have over 1700 members, yet only about 400-500 members attend an annual meeting. This percentage is actually very good, compared to other organizations, but I want to see it get even better. Many of our members do not have the funds to travel to an annual meeting, which is why HAPS regional meetings are a great way for people to become involved. In addition, there are many A&P instructors who still have no idea about HAPS and what we can do to help them in their professional development, so we must do more to make these individuals aware of HAPS. Just as importantly, I want to ensure that the day-to-day operations of HAPS continue to go smoothly, and hopefully I will handle any crises in stride.
Buckle up your safety belts, and let the ride begin!
It’s a great feeling to know I’ve left the organization in such capable hands. And don’t worry: the Board and Executive Director won’t let you mess up!
you are a very hard act to follow, Dee! 🙂