A year, an entire year of challenges and changes, successes and struggles have taught us all a lot of life lessons. One of the greatest for me has been the power of connection. I have always been a person that thrives from being surrounded by people, so this last year has been especially challenging. Even as you think about our organization, we exist to bring people together, to make connections, to convene leaders, so now that we are starting to see the sun on the horizon, we are excited about the remainder of 2021.

I am so excited to announce that we are back, IN PERSON starting in April. Although we have been successful connecting people, executing events virtually, we are so looking forward to seeing your faces once again. When we announced that our April Business After Hours was going to be in-person, we immediately sold out the booths, which was the first indicator that you, our members, are ready. I also know that for some of you, you will need more time, and another one of the greatest lessons we have learned is that we will always need to provide options. Therefore, we are building options around our events, in-person and virtual options, so that you can engage with us in whatever way you want.

Another lesson learned through the pandemic has been embracing adaptability. We have had events postponed, others cancelled, and even some new ones added. While we are committed to going back to in-person events soon, we may still need to make some pivots. But, we are so excited about welcoming you back to live monthly training events, including the Business Training, Eggs & Issues and Women Connect series, and the upcoming ChamberChoice Awards. As the past year has been full of uncertainty, we will take each situation as it happens, with the goal of being together again.

The final “ah-ha” moment for me, as a newbie to this chamber, is the strong passion and dedication of our internal team and our volunteer leaders, as well as the significant influence of this organization. I have had the opportunity to be in St. Paul and Bismarck at the capitol numerous times this session. It is evident that the chamber is highly respected by our elected officials and you, our members, trust us to advocate for these critical business and community issues. We take this responsibility very seriously, so please continue to engage with us, share with us your policy concerns and opportunities, and we will continue to partner with you to strengthen the overall region.

Thank you for continuing to engage with us. I implore you to find one program, event, initiative of The Chamber that fuels your passion and get involved. We need you. The strength of The Chamber is because of the involvement of each of you.