Hello!
As I’m sure all of you have felt – this summer has been a blur! Trying to squeeze 15 months of missed socializing into 4 months has been an adventure.
Here at CREWBaltimore – our momentum is trending the same. We are now into our Q3-Q4 sprint and boy can we feel it. Our calendar is stacked going forward and I personally cannot wait to share the time with you. Even if we have to push to some virtual options – we’ve done it before – and we can do it again TOGETHER.
As I shared in my first and second Letter from the President this year – I have 3 focus areas for my year as President:
Connection, Vision, and Financial Health. I would like to, again, share the progress we are making:
Connection
- We had our FIRST back-in-person event - Hospitality & Retail Luncheon on July 29 at Hayfields Country Club. The panel, location, weather, food were top-notch, but the company of all of you made it even more incredible. The energy in that room was palpable. We had over 70 attendees. That is incredible for a July lunch event!
- Our CREWMates program has been formalized and has gained even more momentum. We have added more teams of incredible members dedicated to being each other’s career think-tanks. An alliance to support, coach each other while we navigate our careers. If you have any questions, please contact Shana Carroll, Theresa Tsamoutalis, or Patty Pescrille.
- Connecting with Your CREW monthly virtual networking calls are still going strong. I’ve learned so much from and about other fabulous members. If you ever need reassurance of your connection to a strong, ambitious community – join us. Next event – Tuesday September 14; you can register on the website.
- Our monthly Conversations Series has been phenomenal! We have had four events since last newsletter:
- April – Conversation with your Prez: CREWNetwork and success with CREWBiz
- May – Conversation over Coffee: ACE Mentoring, MCCEI, and Presentation from Maryvale Students
- June – Conversation with your Prez: Chapter Organization & Leadership
- July – Conversation over Coffee: Johns Hopkins and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program
- August – Conversation with your Prez: Newly approved Strategic Plan
- Our Neighborhood Series event in May – spotlighting Highlandtown, Brewers Hill, Greektown, and Bayview – was another huge success. This Series is another example of how an idea has blossomed and is thriving! Incredible information and inspiration from people who believe in Charm City. This continues to be a “not-to-be-missed” event by our members and other professional organizations. Next edition will be September 15 – focused on the Southwest quad of Baltimore City. Registration now open!
Vision
- As I mentioned above, our Strategic Plan has been approved! I could not be more grateful for the hardwork so many people put in to making this happen. This is going to propel us forward for 2022 and beyond. Your committees are diligently working to align their plans and budget with the Strategic Plan. Great things ahead for us!
Financial Health
- Our Hospitality and Retail Luncheon was hugely successful! Let’s keep that attendance momentum up as we move into more in-person, revenue driving programming. Our programming is superb so please continue to invite perspective members to our events! Let’s continue to grow our member community – we are currently at 114 members! That is well above our projections for 2021.
- Sponsorship is still a high priority for us and our financial health. If you have the time and interest, please join our Sponsorship Committee and drive us forward.
- Presently, we are focused on establishing our budget for 2022 in concert with our Strategic Plan goals.
What a 7 months this has been! We have 5 more to go in 2021. I challenge you to get more involved and support CREWBaltimore to make it what you need it to be for your career. Let’s do this together!
Sincerely,
Kristen Ernst
CREWBaltimore President