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President's Message

January 26, 2021

President's Message

Happy New Year Minnesota Chapter! As we say good riddance to 2020, what do you think of when looking ahead to 2021? I asked each person on the Executive Committee for one word that they would like Chapter Officers to keep in mind as we move into 2021. Below is what they came up with.

People who know me would say I am a realist, not an optimist. Nonetheless, hope is my word for our Chapter in 2021. The definition I like best says hope is a feeling of expectation or desire for a certain thing to happen. In this case, we can look to other words to define the certain thing(s) we want to accomplish: connectedness and unity.

How do we get there?

If I have learned anything from this group over the past 15 years, it is that we can accomplish anything because we are doers. Microsoft includes ‘doer’ on the list of synonyms for realists. Realists know it takes hard work to accomplish anything worth accomplishing.

Below are just a few activities already in the works for 2021:
 
  • The Conference Planning Committee has already met to brainstorm sessions for the upcoming Spring Conference.
  • Migration of our website to the National APWA web template is underway. This will provide consistency with the National website and eliminate our hosting fee.
  • The Diversity Committee is accepting applications for this year’s Diversity Grant. The grant is intended to foster a diverse workforce within the field of public works through education, training, and awareness initiatives oriented toward underrepresented populations.
  • February is Infrastructure Month at the Capitol! Raise Our Grade, MN, a subcommittee of MN2050, is developing a series of Infrastructure Talks with Legislators they will be hosting on Thursday mornings in February.
If you have been thinking about joining a committee, signing up for that certificate program, volunteering to take pictures at an event, participating in STEM outreach, asking co-workers to golf in the scholarship outing, consider this a call to action.
 

Looking ahead, let’s be optimistic and hope:

We will see each other at Grandview Lodge in May for some spring networking and outdoor fun
We will recognize Public Work Week by meeting with members of our communities in late May 
We will learn something new and interesting from a technical tour or two 
We will gather to feel like a kid again at a YP-hosted event
We will celebrate another Pace award at the Chapter Dinner in St. Louis
We will meet that prospective intern or graduate engineer at an on-campus Student Chapter event
We will come together at Earle Brown as the snow begins to fly for our Fall Conference, and our VP will be writing the President’s Message a year from now wondering how we are going to top 2021!
 
It’s almost February, let’s get to work!

 

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