Hello MHVRP Members!

Is the new name (Michigan Healthcare Volunteer Resource Professionals) "rolling off your tongue" yet? It finally is for me and it just "fits," as we continue to evolve as an organization and with the changes in our industry.

 It is hard to believe how close our conference is already--less than two months away! This year has flown by, and the board has done such a great job bringing new enhancements that enable us to communicate in a variety of ways. I hope that you have had a chance to experience, at least once, all of the tools and are aware of the purpose of each one. Here are the highlights:

•  New and improved website, with many bonus features ONLY for members (password protected), found at www.mhvrp.org
• Facebook page, where we can not only share highlights of our organizations and events to show the "world" what we do, but also opens the opportunity for anyone to communicate and network with us!
• LinkedIn, where we can post the professional opportunities that our organization provides, and also have the privacy to add select members (in addition to our own) to professionally network with one another about jobs, other memberships, speakers in our field, and much more.
• Google Groups, where we have "free" email and the opportunity to post questions to our colleagues and get immediate responses to help us in our daily decision making, as well as in long-term planning. We can choose to get "immediate" emails, or to have them summarized and sent daily--but either way, this is my favorite tool! Just email to mhvrp@googlegroups.com to send out a question, idea, or attachment to the entire membership and watch the immediate, thoughtful responses from colleagues flow to you with this "members only" tool!

 As the board has worked through this year to add more benefits for your paid membership, we have also worked diligently to bring you a wonderful educational opportunity for this coming May at the 40^th anniversary and spring conference. It is our great honor to feature Colleen Sweeny, who has rapidly become one of THE most "in demand" speakers in our industry at this time! She has given us a great price, and having personally met her last year at AHVRP, I am excited for her to meet as many of our members as possible. She is warm, funny, intelligent, and is planning sessions for us that you will find enlightening and that will actually change how you look at healthcare when you return to your role in your organization.

On Wednesday, we have also added a full afternoon to the conference, with an inspirational speaker to help us celebrate 40 years and  provide humor, motivation, and self-reflection. She will be followed by one of our membership's favorite activities, "TABLE TOPICS," where we will have discussions on as many things as you can bring to the event that you need answered. Hopefully, you are also posing any "burning questions" for your colleagues in Google Groups--you don't need to wait to come to a conference to network now. We have so many ways to communicate (and get answers) instantly now, that you don't have to wait! You can reach the entire membership by posting in Google Groups!

In addition to our speakers and networking opportunities, Stacy Dowdy will be there to give the Healthcare Advocacy Update. She will also take your questions and comments about what is happening not only in our own state, but around the country as well. In an election year, she is especially busy, but always makes herself available to us. We are very fortunate to have such great support from MHA.

We will also have our general membership meeting over lunch on Thursday of the conference. The materials for the membership meeting will be distributed via email prior to the conference. Watch for those materials to arrive in Google Groups, and if you cannot come to the conference, we hope that you will read the reports provided by the board members and ask any questions you may have prior to the conference so that your voice is also heard.

Wednesday evening, we will be having dinner in beautiful Glen Arbor to continue getting reacquainted, catching up with old friends, and making new ones. The bonfire on Thursday evening, after the dinner and officer installation, will be an opportunity to bring our guests or families, relax, and enjoy spring in northern Michigan.

We have a number of new members to our organization, and we look forward to embracing them and making sure everyone is getting the value and networking experience needed to survive in our rapidly expanding role as volunteer resource leaders in the healthcare industry. Who can argue the value we provide for such a nominal membership fee and competitively priced conference that includes national speakers?

Time is ticking, and April 4is the deadline for the guaranteed pricing for The Homestead, so do not delay in making your reservation to save some money on lodging. The regiatration deadline for the conference is a month after that, and we hope to see a big turnout of members.

As my time as president winds down, I look forward to planning my year as advisor to the board and continuing to help grow membership and provide programming that delivers exceptional opportunities for our members. We thank you for your dedication to your job, to your colleagues, and to MHVRP. We hope that you will continue to attend regional meetings and recruit new members. And most of all, we appreciate that regardless of how many "hats you wear" in life, you always strive to do the best job possible wearing each one!

Wishing you a blessed spring and looking forward to celebrating with you in May!

Jacquie