After many months of extensive collaboration and planning I am pleased to announce PENS has officially and successfully transitioned to our new management company, Applied Measurement Professionals, Inc. (AMP). In October, the Board of Directors traveled to Kansas City to meet our new management team face-to-face and while we were there we had an extremely productive fall Board meeting in the beautiful AMP facility. Our official start date with AMP was November 1, 2011. The Board took a collective sigh of relief (and so did our new Executive Director) at the conclusion of our meeting. We saw the proverbial “light at the end of the (transition) tunnel” and knew all our hard work had paid off for our members and ultimately the future of our organization.
Our Board meeting discussion agenda was packed and included committee reports, an update on our transition, financial discussion and review. There was also an extensive discussion of our progress through our long-range and short-term strategic goals as well as future project planning.
Our extremely fastidious and fiscally obsessive treasurer, Lee Ann Tincher, not only had to learn how our previous management company accounted for our funds but she had to completely relearn a different (although much better) style of bookkeeping that is utilized by AMP. All of that in the midst of organizing investment accounts and money market funds so they could be transitioned with us. Lee Ann survived the exit audit from our previous company with battle scars to show for it, and she has made certain all our funds have been adequately transferred and accounted for. She is now working with the accounting team at AMP on the 2012 budget. The Board has nicknamed Lee Ann our “Bulldog,” we thank God for her every day and cannot imagine having anyone else in her position; she has done a fabulous job in this transition.
Conference planning has progressed uninterrupted and full steam ahead. Kelly Behm and her marvelous team of volunteers have continued to organize the conference schedule. They have the sessions lined up and our speakers have been contacted and confirmed. We have identified a subcommittee to address the 25th anniversary of PENS and they are putting together fun historical aspects of our organization to infuse into our conference agenda.
Kelly and I accompanied Megan Finnell, our conference planner, for a brief site visit in mid-November. We were wowed by the hotel which has just been renovated and is spectacular. The conference facilities will meet our needs perfectly and the Exhibition Hall proved to be more than what we expected for our sponsors. We are a short walk to downtown Disney and there are free shuttles to and from the theme parks. It’s going to be a long cold winter for many of you; I invite you to join us April 25-28 for plenty of warm sunshine while we provide you with invaluable learning and networking experiences. Registration will soon be open and the agenda will be posted on the website soon.
Our website has also undergone a transition. As part of our new contract with AMP, the PENS staff is in the process of rebuilding and will be hosting our new site. It looks the same as it did before transition, we did this intentionally. For the past few years we have been looking at expanding the electronic benefits of our organization but we were limited in our abilities with our old site design. Our new site will have updated tools that make it compatible with these advanced web design features and allow our organization to expand and offer more to our membership and ultimately meet the needs of and expanded membership in the future. To facilitate this expansion, the Board voted to redefine the position of Secretary to include Website and Newsletter editor to improve coordination of all membership communications. The Board saw this change as moving in the direction of meeting the needs of our members through improved electronic communication venues.
In our discussion regarding our ongoing strategic plan, we addressed our current position and how we see PENS progressing into the future as an organization. The Board is currently investigating the possibility of offering our members new opportunities to advance the practice of the endocrine nurse/APN possibly through certification or collaboration with other pediatric organizations. We will present many of these ideas as the opportunities become more concrete.
In conclusion, I would like to share my utmost confidence in the stability of our organization. The PENS Board is a multi-talented and stellar group of individuals. We have a strong and well-organized new management staff that is prepared and excited to support our membership. We will continue to utilize all of these strengths as we move forward into our 25th year. I can only say I hope to be around for the 50th anniversary which should be quite a party!
Many blessings to you all. See you in Disney World!