President's Message from Monica Leggett
Monica Leggett | Published on 6/9/2020
This is my last letter to you as President of the chapter, and what a year we’ve had!
Acknowledgement: I want to express my heartfelt gratitude – to the members, the volunteer board and committees, and to the participants of the many, many programs and events we’ve held this year. I’m so excited and hopeful for the future of the chapter in the very capable hands of Judy Garfinkel. She has a wonderful board and many experienced committee members to lead. Our membership has topped 200 for the first time ever! I hope you’ll take the time to get to know each other and take advantage of all that the chapter offers.
Programming: Join us on June 16th at 7pm for a BYOB Virtual Celebration. We have many volunteers to acknowledge and the new board to meet. Judy will also take the opportunity to share her hopes for the coming year. We promise to make it fun and inspiring!
On May 29 we had 38 attendees for our webinar, How to Grow Your Sphere of Influence Using Social Media. To continue the business development programming, we’ll be hosting at least 3 more webinars in June, July and August on topics designed to help you grow your business and your influence as a thought leader. We’ll have more to announce this week, but please save the dates of June 26, July 31, and August 28 at 8 am.
Special Thoughts: I’d like to take the rest of this message to acknowledge the current climate we are experiencing and pose a few questions about our role – as individuals and as an association – to make this world a better place to live and work.
It’s a remarkable time in American History with simultaneous events colliding; a worldwide pandemic, economic hardships, social upheavals, and now nationwide protests for social justice, criminal justice and police reform. One might step back and ask, “What is trying to happen here and how can I/should I show up? Do I have blind spots and biases that I’m not aware of? How can I be part of the solution and not part of the problem?”
The answers to these questions are very personal. We, ICF CT, can’t presume to know what anyone is going through right now or advise on any steps for you to take. However, we can create a safe space for open dialogue, and provide support, and perhaps even challenge each other.
We had a great conversation at our June 3 Coach Cafe and we expect to have another group discussion during the June 17th Virtual Coach Café at noon. Please attend if you have something to share or questions to ask or just want to be with other like-minded people. Our businesses are changing before our very eyes and we are being asked to quickly evolve.
From my heart, I want everyone to remember that the coaching profession is filled with talented people with strong values, a heart of gold, and the passion and calling to serve and support others. It is through our gift and skills as a coach and as a human being that we can, “Be the Change that we want to see in the world,” (Ghandi), and help others be a force in the change for good. That’s the best any of us can do and the best we, as a chapter, can do as well.
With Deepest gratitude,
Monica