This December, my time as your CNGA Board President comes to an end. It has been an incredible honor to be a part of the board and I will always say that what I contributed was far outweighed by what I gained from it, both personally and professionally. If you have ever been on the fence about participating in a volunteer role of this kind, I encourage you to seek it out.
My 2020-2021 term has certainly been an interesting one. It began while we were just about to hire a new Executive Director, which is a thorough and lengthy process. Shortly after that came the uncertainty of COVID-19 while we navigated and battled the new public health restrictions and regulations. We had to learn how to have successful board meetings via Zoom, how to keep our member businesses in the “essential” category, and what we could and could not do for our social gatherings. In 2021, we had to drastically adjust our budget to conserve dollars where we could while keeping things rolling without the substantial income from the ProGreen Expo.
The growth that we have seen as an industry over the past two years has been unprecedented. We are now facing more challenges as we see our shipping networks struggle to bring much needed products and inputs to our businesses. As we ease into 2022, my hope is that the challenges we are facing with labor, shipping and receiving will become problems of the past. Hopefully, manufacturers will begin to keep up with demand and freight will even out to pre-COVID prices.
As I bid you farewell for now, I am confident that I leave you in very good hands. Our current Board is strong and represents our industry well. We have the Association back on track to make sure that our MEMBERS get the most from their membership. Your input is invaluable and I hope that you feel comfortable enough to reach out to Glenda, Debi or Ben at the Association or to any of the current Board members with feedback or questions.
Glenda has jumped into her role as Executive Director with true grit and determination. I am in awe of how much she has been able to accomplish given all of the challenges she has faced in her short time with us. I know she will lead this Association into the future with gusto. Mandy Gerace will step into the Board President role in 2022, and I know that she will be an incredible leader for this Board and look forward to seeing her successes!
I hope that you enjoy the peace that the holidays bring and the break from the whirlwind pace that our industry sees in spring and summer. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for allowing me the chance to serve this membership! I hope to see you at the 2022 ProGreen Expo!
