The Race for the Finish Line (Wish I Could Slow it Down!)
August 03, 2015 | 1946 Views
While it was only a few weeks ago that our 90th conference came to a close in New Orleans; it feels like a distant fond memory. Like the CHART presidents before me, I have looked forward to this time more than once over the past year, yet, with extremely mixed emotions. While I’m excited for what this year holds for our organization, the little time I have left to serve you on the board slapped me in the face like none other when Patrick stepped down. Now in my fifth year on the board, the time has raced by like a NASCAR competitor zooming towards the finish line.
While standing at the podium on Monday evening, I realized for the first time that I was the sole member left from my first board. The epiphany that the ebb and flow of an organization mimics that of life in general struck me at the core. With Jennifer Swan, John Kelly, and Calvin Banks at hand in addition to Patrick I also realized I was the first president in many years that had all his presidential mentors in attendance. The blessed feeling I had by having them all present at that moment left me with a renewed since of purpose to make sure that while it may be fleeting, my time needs to be impactful.
During this year I not only look forward to carrying forth the initiatives of my predecessors, but also am eager to contribute additionally to those so that CHART continues as the foremost leader in hospitality training and development. These focuses will include:
- Assessing our current competencies to keep the content as current as possible for you as well as starting to design a "second layer" of competencies for those who have completed the current tracks
- Exploring opportunities to place our competencies online so that we are cutting edge in our delivery
- And on the business end, working with the board to examine additional revenue steams to place us in an even stronger financial position
I will share updates of our accomplishments throughout the year.
This post originally appeared in the August/September 2015 FlipCHART as Jason's PresidentTalks column.