Thank you for being a part of marketing communications excellence in Kansas City.
Amanda Fischer-Penner • President, KC IABC
WHAT? It’s 2020? How did that happen? In the blink of an eye we’re off running into 2020. We’re looking forward to an exceptional year for KC IABC, but first, let’s celebrate all we accomplished last year.
We ended the year with a tremendous unveiling – our completely new website. The previous site had become inaccessible to many users, so board member Roy Harryman spent countless hours trouble-shooting and redesigning the site. We now have a site that provides a seamless experience for visitors.
We held our 2019 Quills awards and named Sheri Johnson our Lowell Communicator of the Year, all in one night. Honoring Kansas City’s finest communicators and seeing their pride in their work was a wonderful experience. Our Best in Show was an inspiring employee engagement initiative that worked on a small budget and had a major impact. I can’t wait for the 2020 Quills, which will open soon (wink!).
Our monthly professional development luncheons provided excellent crowds and great discussions. We covered a vast array of topics, from prepping for a crisis to creating engaging content to talks with CEOs. I had the honor of meeting many of you and look forward to another full year of programming in 2020, starting with the Thursday, Jan. 16 event. There is still time to register!
I am also proud of our outreach to local colleges and students through our multiple Career Roadshows, coordinated by Kathryn Lorenzen, who took communication professionals to sit on panel discussions on college campuses. The next generation of Kansas City communicators are becoming more involved, and have even been attending a couple of our monthly professional development sessions.
We welcomed a new KC IABC board in July. Several board members are returning directors, but we also have fresh, energetic faces bringing new ideas and perspective. This team was off and running, creating a communication plan, complete monthly programming for 2020, reaching out to local college students and professors, and so much more.
I am also thankful for the individual members leading our special interest groups. Julie Bartels-Smith has been our steadfast leader of the Masters. Elaine Symanski and Byron Ginsburg kept our IndyComm group of individual consultants moving along and I’m happy to have Adam Herbig taking over this role in 2020.
Looking to 2020, Stacey Dickson and her team have been working hard to bring our annual one-day conference, Business Communicators Summit (BCS), to life. BCS will feature keynote speaker John Hall and valuable breakout sessions to help you in your career and refine your work. Keep an eye on our BCS page for details.
If you are looking to expand your skills, gain leadership experience, boost your network, or just connect with your communication and marketing peers, I encourage you to get more involved with KC IABC. We have a few board positions and volunteer opportunities open. I’m always happy to chat about the value volunteering adds both personally and professionally.
So goodbye 2019 and hello 2020! It’s going to be a great year!
All my Best,
Amanda