From staff meetings to national political conventions, it seems like everything these days is happening virtually. As we all know too well, our world has been forever altered by the Covid-19 pandemic. There is nothing that we can do aside from being vigilant in our resolve, accepting of science and respectful of others. But, that doesn't mean that we can't make the most of our virtual world too.
The first way to do that is by having some fun with it! I attached a picture that I found online of a funny virtual background being used by some. Don't we all want to be contestants on a game show? Maybe it is just me, but it made me laugh. Couldn't we all use a good laugh during these trying times? I encourage you to download some funny virtual backgrounds of your own. I know, these aren't appropriate for every meeting, but under the right circumstance, why not?
The second way to make the most of our virtual world is by reflecting on how we can use it to make things better. I'm not just talking short term, but in the long term too. Life is never going back to how it was pre-pandemic. It just isn't. There will always be aspects of life forever altered. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though. We need to be positive thinking and strategic. How do we make the most of it? What can we do to incorporate the good aspects of the virtual world to better ourselves? It is in that light that the NCAHU Board has been creating our goals for the upcoming year. One of the main goals is establishing a virtual chapter. This is not something new, we have been discussing the topic for years. The pandemic certainly has made it top-of-mind now though.
There are many things to consider and many obstacles to overcome before we can establish a virtual chapter. It will not happen overnight. What I can assure you of at this point is that we are doing our due diligence to ensure that we do it in the right way to encourage engagement from those that would not otherwise engage and to not discourage engagement from those that are currently engaged (and love the association as it is today). What we would ultimately like to offer our members is choice and accessibility. Choice for the member to decide if they would enjoy the social experience of a live meeting or prefer the convenience of attending the meeting remotely. Accessibility for the member that lives in a geographic area that is not supported by a local chapter. We have a lot of work ahead of us to make this a reality but I thought you should know that this is something we are aggressively working on for you, our valued member!
In closing, I would like to thank our Medicare Chairs, Don Hild and Tony DeRico, along with our Communications/Technology Chair, Tony Gutierrez, for holding our first ever Virtual Medicare Summits in June and August. They were fantastic events that were well run and attended! I would also like to thank our Champion's Circle sponsors: BCBS (MVP), Aetna (Bronze), UHC (Bronze), and Humana (Bronze), along with our event sponsors: InternetCE and Agent Pipeline. Without their support, the events would not have been possible.
Until next month...
Dan
Chris, thanks for all you do too!