“OMG, December is here and the year is almost over!”

It’s true. I’ve had more than one person tell me this statement.

My response is to ask them to chill out because their freak out is freaking ME out. Yes, days in 2016 are limited. It’s that time when we look at our performance plans and KPIs and realize there’s only a few more weeks to accomplish all the lofty promises we set out at the beginning of the year.

Yet, like any close to the year, despite the stress of realizing what you have left to accomplished, it’s nice to reflect and think about what has been good about 2016.

There’s a lot to be proud of at IABC/Calgary. 2016 hasn’t been a great year for everyone. It’s definitely had its challenges and our organization has certainly felt it along with everyone else in our struggling economy. We deal with these struggles and make the most of them. Thankfully, the current Board is nothing short of amazing, working to ensure we have a great year.

That’s me with my  board celebrating some holiday cheer below.

Since it is the holiday season, I thought I should make a list.

Some of the cool things we’ve done so far this year at IABC/Calgary:

• We broke a record of how many communicators were accredited for their Communications Management Professional Calgary currently has the most CMP certified communicators in the world.
• We’re being recognized Internationally for the work we’re doing – even profiled on the IABC Leadership Letter. As the second largest Chapter in the world, we’re helping set benchmarks and best practices.
• We’ve improved how we’re communicating with a great team of communicators and marketers managing our website, newsletter and social media channels.
• We’ve hosted over 10 free and paid events for members at various levels in the profession.
• We launched a Mentorship Program with 14 of pairs set up for a season of learning.

And we’re not done, once 2017 hits we have a few things waiting for you:

• We are preparing to host a 50^th Anniversary Gala that is going to be off the chain. You need to buy tickets because this is going to be a party to remember.
• We’re going to launch our second go at our Gift of Communications initiative which has communicators helping out a local charity with their communications needs.
• We’ve applied to International’s Chapter Management Awards for this year and expectations are hopeful.
• One of our most popular web pages, CareerLink, will be seeing some new features in the type of jobs members can search. Can you say, “Contracts?”
• We’re going to recognize our volunteers with an end-of-year volunteer event which is going to be quite different than what we’ve traditionally seen. Keep your eye out for this and many other events throughout our year.

I feel like we’ve done a lot as an organization. I hope you as members are seeing the value that we’re trying to bring. There’s passion around IABC/Calgary. Not just from our Board, but from our volunteers and our members.

We can’t do what we do without your constant support. So thank you for continuing to be a member. Thank you for attending our events, connecting with us, and making us a leader in the communications industry. You are what has made IABC/Calgary special for the past 50 years.

I hope you’re enjoying the journey we’ve set out upon this year and hope you continue to come #createconnection with us in 2017.

Bringing the Holiday Cheer,

Will Tigley
President, IABC/Calgary