Blog

Message From the President

Greetings SHRM STL Members! Time flies by so quickly! I think the older you get, the faster it goes! It seems like just a short time ago, I was assuming the role of President of our chapter and now here we are at the end!
 
It has been a great year with many highlights, including our name change to better align with SHRM National, two more successful study groups for SHRM certification, our first Statewide MO HR Day of Service, stellar monthly programs, and yet another successful full-day conference with 540+ attendees.

I was slightly nervous when the year began about all of the work ahead for our chapter over the course of the year. As we often find, life speeds by in the blink of an eye, and it's time refresh. All of the work done to execute projects is possible with volunteers who are very eager to strategize and execute chapter events. I would like to give a shout out to the Board Members who served with me this year:
 
President-Elect Tim Wells
Vice President, Administration Dean Kpere-Daibo
Vice President, Diversity & Workforce Readiness Mary Lou Ames-Smith, PHR, SHRM-CP
Vice President, Development & University Relations Sue Hemmer, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Vice President, Membership Ben Houseman
Vice President, Communications Rebecca Feldmann
Vice President, Programs Nicole Schlanger
Chapter Management Professional
and her staff		 Beth Quick-Andrews, CAE
Jim Andrews & Kelley Field

With these leaders, countless volunteers worked to execute social events, programs and the conference, and the work would be much more difficult without them. I hope that each of you will consider serving in some capacity. Whether it is just for the HR Day of Service or something more concrete like a Board or Committee position, new volunteers bring new ideas. You will also get to know some great people - the Board and Committee work provides more time with fellow chapter members. For those who are certified - you can earn recertification credit by serving as a chapter volunteer.

Last, but not least, I would like to thank Ogletree Deakins for providing Premier Level Sponsorship for our chapter, year over year. Support by business partners only enhances our ability to offer high-level programs.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or ideas that you would like to share related to our Chapter, please do not hesitate to contact any of your Board Members. The Board wants SHRM of Greater St. Louis to be your organization so feedback is appreciated.

You all have made it a truly great year and experience for me, and I am thankful that I was able to serve. I look forward to seeing you all soon! We're "Going the Distance!"

Linda Pipitone, MA, PHR, SHRM-CP
2018 President