Written by EWI Phoenix Chapter
11 October 2011
Dear EWI Colleagues:

October is here and I'm excited for our fall season, new Board, and Committee Members to begin their new roles and share their ideas for EWI and continued growth. Our theme this year is twofold - 1) Keep it simple and 2) Have fun. We all work hard to help others, we are all busy and full of responsibilities so thank you for taking time to make a difference for someone else, many who are less fortunate than us. I believe volunteering is a true gift, a gift to others is often a gift to ourselves at the same time. Each of you make me very proud, you have honored me with the President's role and I can't wait to see what we can do together!

October is also a perfect opportunity to recognize the wonderful turnout we had for our Fall Fundraiser which was our 2nd Annual Golf Tournament at the Arizona Grand Resort. Sondra Robbins, our out-going fundraising director, and her entire committee did a fabulous job creating a successful event last Saturday. Sincere appreciation also goes to Kerry Feltenberg of Arizona Grand Resort for her help, dedication, and support - Thank you! We will share our fundraising results with all of you once they are available.

Saturday October 15th is our Annual Planning Meeting for the Board of Directors and Committee Chairs that can join us for brainstorming ideas and planning our new year. We are sure to have good news and thoughts to share throughout the year. Our goal will be to challenge ourselves on how to simplify some activities for even greater success and enjoyment for all.

This month is also a nice time to reflect on EWI's Leadership Conference and Annual Meeting (LCAM) which was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We had an amazing time, opportunities to network, share best practices from one Chapter to another and participate in fabulous professional career skill building sessions. Guest speakers came from all over the country. We had presenters and speakers from Companies such as Hershey's, Coca-Cola and #1 best-selling authors such as John Gordon (author of The Soup, The Seed, Training Camp) to many more. All accomplished, published, and insightful. I walked away with ideas I can use to better serve my clients, apply in my business, contribute greater as a Regional Leader, and help me in the EWI roles I serve.

Our year is just beginning. My gracious thanks to Jenni Burns for setting the tone for a productive and successful transition. I will see you all soon and in the meantime, have fun!

I'll leave you with this quote from the book "How We Lead Matters" by Marilyn Carlson Nelson - "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

 Kellie Wise
Phoenix Chapter EWI President
2011/2012