A moment of clarity for a new ASTD staff member

This past week I joined the ASTD staff and became an ASTD member. I figured one thing out very quickly about our chapters: they MAKE THINGS HAPPEN! Honestly, I wonder if they sleep sometimes! Between the events, educational workshops, mentoring opportunities, community involvement, and social networking—our chapters still remain on the cutting edge of the best practices in the industry.

It is no surprise to me that our chapters can remain so effective by having such a committed group of leaders in place. While the members of each chapter are crucial to our success—our leaders keep us running in the right direction. One of ASTD's promise to our chapters is to provide opportunities for leaders to share ideas, thoughts, and brainstorm for ways to take their chapter members to the next level. A few examples include online resources, toolkits, and conferences—one of which is in full-phase of planning now: The 2009 Chapter Leaders Conference.

The conference will be held October 30-31 in Arlington, Virginia and is exclusively for current chapter leaders. If you are a current chapter member—rest assured that your leader(s) will return from this conference with several ideas to push your chapter to the next level. If you're a current chapter leader, mark your calendar and keep your eyes open for the registration announcement which will be made in mid-July!

Now grab another cup of coffee and KEEP MAKING THINGS HAPPEN!