WIPN Chapters Update
Happy Holidays! It is hard to imagine that 2021 is ending. As we look back on the year, we are first and foremost filled with gratitude to all our co-chairs for leading the WIPN Local Chapters with focus, passion, and commitment. Navigating the event ecosystem in the pandemic era was no small feat, and the co-chairs did it graciously and effectively. We collectively organized and hosted 77 educational, fun, inspiring and empowering events throughout the country—with some of these gatherings taking place in person! Health and safety protocols notwithstanding, this was a refreshing development, after at least a year of all virtual meetings. It was clear we were all eager to return to pre-COVID 19 days of socializing and networking when some of the WIPN Board, regional leaders, co-chairs and members met in person at the first WIPN NAPA Happy Hour in Las Vegas in September! For those who were able to attend, it was great to be together. We were also present at the Wealth@Wor(k) for their Nashville event in October.
We cultivated a strong sense of WIPN community through our virtual monthly meetings in 2021. We communicated the latest updates, heard from Board member guest speakers, and shared feedback with each other on various initiatives, inclusive of tips and best practices.
Organized into six distinct regions, the chapters were also supported throughout the year by the dedicated work of their respective regional leaders. Thank you to all for your inspiration, great ideas and hard work, both behind the scenes and in front of the chapters:
- Kristi Baker – Great Lakes
- Roberta Hess – Northeast
- Jessica Johanson – Midwest
- Kara Kidney – Southwest
- Andrea Nitta – Pacific NW
- Emily Rassam – Southeast
2021 was a milestone year for membership and, with the help of the Membership Committee, WIPN reached over 1,500 members! This is the largest number of members in WIPN’s history, and this certainly attests to co-chairs and chapter’s impact on both retention of current members and addition of new members! We look forward to keeping the momentum up in 2022 to make even more connections that count!
The WIPN Marketing Committee finalized six Regional Showcase pages on LinkedIn — specifically WIPN Northeast, WIPN Midwest, WIPN Pacific NW, WIPN Great Lakes, WIPN Southeast, and WIPN Southwest — uplifting our social media presence. Dedicated to the chapters in each region, each Showcase region leverages our new logo and the new name. This is a fantastic avenue to promote chapter events and showcase individual members. We appreciate the efforts of the Regional Leaders for adding the initial content and for the Showcase oversight and look forward to seeing chapter activity in 2022 and beyond!
We are looking to start the new year with our second annual WIPN Virtual Leadership Summit, designed to bring all the co-chairs together to reflect on the past year, set and align goals and intentions for 2022, and interact with the WIPN Board and regional leaders on a variety of initiatives, including new resources available to chapters and their members. The event will take place from Jan. 25th– Jan. 27th for 90 minutes each day. More details coming soon!
Lastly, we would like to thank the outgoing WIPN Board members for all their great work! Influenced by each of your endeavors, especially around chapter growth, we will continue to Inspire, Promote and Network.
Any interest in starting a chapter in your area, joining a chapter committee, or volunteering for your local chapter to help our community grow and thrive? Contact Pam Brooks or Ivana Polonijo for more information.
