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For my first President’s
Message, I would like to continue to emphasize the theme of
this year’s National Chairperson, Debi Kuchka-Craig—“Step-Up.”
The Appalachian Chapter of
Central Pennsylvania represents this theme very well. In all
reality, it has been our mantra for the last few years. Our
leaders and our members have certainly “Stepped-Up” in their
commitment and efforts to strengthen our Chapter during
these difficult times for the economy and many of our health
care employers. Based on the results of our 2009-2010 year,
the Appalachian Chapter ranks well within the top 10-15
chapters (out of 68 chapters) in performance.
For the previous two years,
our Chapter President has been Bill Weik. Bill was a
formidable leader, who committed himself to a second year as
president at a time of some instability within our
leadership structure. Working with Bill, besides being a
great guy, has been an excellent learning experience for
many of us, as he moved this chapter forward in so many
positive ways—education hours, leadership development, and
sponsorship. We are fortunate that Bill has agreed to stay
on the Board and lead our first two-day educational event
during late March, 2011. On behalf of the Chapter: Thank
you, Bill, for “Stepping-Up!”
Today I am leaving for the Annual
National Institute in Las Vegas. The Appalachian Chapter
will be honored at this meeting for our successful efforts
during the 2009-2010 year (again, please keep in mind that
there are 68 chapters in the country, and in membership
count we rank 41st):
· We
are one of only 20 chapters that earned a perfect score
of 100 points on the Chapter Balanced Score Card—an
all-encompassing metric tool that monitors just about all
chapter activity from membership, to education, to days of
cash.
· Charles
F. Mehler Gold Award of Excellence for Education—This
award recognizes chapters performing at the highest levels
(exceeding 19.8 hours/member) in educational programming.
Our 20.6 hours of educational programming per member
places us in the Top 10 nationally.
· C.
Henry Hottum Award for Educational Performance Improvement—This
award recognizes chapters that achieve a significant
increase (at least 6 percent) in education performance.
The Appalachian Chapter increase was a whopping 30
percent!
· Bronze
Award of Excellence for Membership Growth and Retention—This
award recognizes chapters that achieve an increase (each
year established by National) in membership. Our Chapter
had a 1 percent increase (which is an accomplishment at a
time when many chapters are reporting decreases), and we
ended the year 309 members strong.
The Helen M. Yerger
Special Recognition Award – Education—Our
March 2010 “Physician/Hospital Collaborative” meeting has
been cited to receive this honor. Special thanks to
Mike Rupert for successfully preparing the Yerger
application package.
Member
Satisfaction in the Chapter—During
the 2010 survey from National, the Appalachian Chapter
membership reported 65 percent satisfaction in the
Chapter and our activities. Nationally, only seven other
chapters scored higher.
So, on June 22, when I “Step-Up” onto
the stage to receive these recognitions, I can only thank
all of you for your commitment to excellence and dedication
to Appalachian Chapter’s long history of success. As I
load-up my rented truck to haul all these awards back East,
I’ll smile as I ride off into the desert sunset…
(Actually, these awards are Fed Ex’d to
us, and I’ll be taking the Red Eye home.)
My last parting thought: One of my
most vivid images of the 2009-2010 year is the cover of
April’s Appalachian Trail. Patty Taleff has a
look of such happiness and joy as she accepts the Medal of
Honor. Patty dedicated years of leadership as a member and
an officer, and still remains active. I remember the day of
the awards as Patty “Stepped-up,” and joyfully accepted the
Medal of Honor. It’s moments like this that really reinforce
why we should all “Step-Up” --- excellence, camaraderie,
professional development, networking, fulfillment,
achievement...and good times!
Richard Imbimbo
Chapter President, 2010/2011
The Appalachian Chapter of Central Pennsylvania
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