"This past June at the IMPI Annual Award's Night I received my five year member pin which gave me pause - has it really been five years? Apparently so, or they wouldn't have given me the pin, but in all seriousness it is hard to believe that I have been a member for only five years!

So, here is my IMPI Story that begins way back in 2005 when I attended my first luncheon and knew no one. I had actually been recruited by a dear friend who decided to up and move to Missouri so I had to face that luncheon alone while six months pregnant no less - as if going to a meeting where you know no one isn't awkward enough! I am not going to sugar-coat it, I had a rocky start. I didn't know who to talk to, how to meet my colleagues and peers or the art of networking in a crown of unknowns. I thoroughly enjoyed the luncheon, but really didn't make many connections and still I persisted.

A few months later I had my first daughter, the beautiful and dramatic Lily Elizabeth, and I fell off the map for a while. Once I got back into the swing of things, I was determined to get the full benefit of my membership. I joined the Awards Committee under the leadership of the lovely Rebecca Moreland Green and then was asked to co-chair the committee the following year. That is how I met another dynamic force, Jaime Smith, my co-chair. After two years of co-chairing the Awards with some of the most talented and wonderful women and man (just one - lucky duck) that I know, I was asked to serve as the Vice President of Communications. Oh, and along the road last year, I received my CMP which I would recommend to everyone here - and I know you don't have the time, we never do, but as you know, we make it.

Like you, I wear many hats. Officially I am the Director of Training and Special Events for the Indiana Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, but on any given day I am also a graphic designer, marketing specialist, trade show trouble-shooter, meeting magician, mommy, wife, PTO, ISAE, and IMPI member. As the saying goes, you reap what you sow, and my garden is just as overgrown as yours, but I continue to make time for IMPI and all the valuable connections and resources that are a part of belonging to this great association.

I challenge you all to get more involved and share your IMPI story with us - we are always looking for new Communication Committee Members, just email me or Maria Meschi.