Since our January chapter meeting, we have seen the candidate filing period come and go, and some of us (me included) were able to cancel their election. Although fleeting, I had a sigh of relief knowing that I will not have to split my time between the budget process and conducting an election. I will lift up my fellow NTMCA members that have to juggle both, because I know the time involved during this hectic season. I remind everyone to keep in touch and lean on one another during the next few months. Remember to come up every now and then for some air. A good way to keep yourself grounded is to join your colleagues at our monthly meetings. It is easy to fall back on-I'm too busy, bad timing, too far, short staffed. I believe we have all been there at one time, but if we don't take care of ourselves, most importantly our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual states we will eventually find that we are running on fumes. As a chapter, we need to keep one another lifted up. I encourage you to find a fellow chapter member who can be your accountability partner.

I tip my hat to Vice President Diane Cockrell. She has done an excellent job lining up speakers for our monthly chapter business meetings. In keeping with the Board's goal to provide self-empowerment series for members, our February guest speaker Marti Miller was spot on! Ms. Miller is no stranger to NTMCA or TMCA and anyone who has had the fortunate pleasure to meet her can attest to her lively spirit that is contagious. So it should not surprise you that she spoke about "Motivational Mentoring". In our profession, we support the foundation of our entities. As such, we must use our tongues wisely; build trust with one another; help one another; choose words wisely; and pay attention to the little things. She encouraged us to be a champion of leadership. She went on to say that we cannot push someone down and lift them up at the same time. We must never overlook the power of connection.   If you are interested, Ms. Miller has written a book, which will be released soon and is titled "Tell me Something Good". Lastly, I want to thank Zolaina Reyes and Felicia King for hosting the February meeting.