By: Danielle Wright, Marriott Tulsa Hotel Southern Hills

When did you become involved in the PCMA Heartland Chapter and what made you want to join?

I joined PCMA Heartland Chapter, I suppose you could say out of necessity. I had the wonderful opportunity to move to Kansas City in 2010, working remotely for Visit Indy! Working from a home office, and being highly social I knew I had to find a way to get involved. My mentor had suggested looking into PCMA as a way to meet people, and also get to know my peers in the industry in the region. Little did I know that PCMA Heartland Chapter was about to become such an important part of my life!

What was your favorite part/moment from being president?

Wow, that’s a good question! It rather hard to pick just one thing. Probably my favorite thing was getting to see ideas that would come up in meetings, or over emails, come to life by our amazing Heartland Volunteers. The power of teamwork was unbelievable! I can’t say enough how lucky I was to have amazing volunteers to work with during my term.

What was your greatest accomplishment this year?

Probably the biggest accomplishment for 2017 was the growth of our Lunch and Learns. In 2017 we hosted quarterly lunch and learns in St. Louis and Tulsa, allowing us to further reach all members in our chapter. Our first lunch and learns were not large, but as the year went on we were seeing registration close to 50+. This had been a goal of the chapter for several years, and I’m so proud that 2017 was the year we were able to really get this up and going. Thank you to everyone who made this initiative such a success!

Where do you see the Heartland Chapter headed?

When I gave my outgoing remarks in February 2018, I made the comment that we used to refer to the chapter as the ‘Little Chapter that Could’, but in recent years we’ve most definitely become the ‘Chapter That Does!’. I see the future as very bright for our Heartland Chapter, continuing to grow and provide for our members. The ideas that our chapter has come up with will continue to raise the bar, year over year. The sky is really the limit for this amazing chapter!

Are there any “last” words you’d like to give your chapter members?

Get involved!!!! I can’t say this enough. We know not everyone has the same amount of time, but the value of being involved is priceless! What you learn from your peers, are things you won’t learn in education or in your 9-5 job! My time serving this amazing chapter will stay with me forever! Thank you for allowing me to serve as your 2017 President, it has been one of my favorite experiences in professional career!