FEI Portland Members and Partners,
Spring has arrived! I hope you’re all well and looking forward to nicer weather and positive changes related to the pandemic. There have been many references the last couple weeks about when it all started a year ago. If you are like me, I remember those days last year and how I felt with so many unknowns. Well, I will say the one year later we know more and are getting close to the end, but we still have many challenges to get through.
When the 2020 – 2021 FEI Portland year kicked off last fall, we were all fairly used to the virtual world that took over our personal and professional lives. As the Chapter’s Partner Chair, I immediately felt the disconnection as we adjusted to this new way of working. No fault to blame; however, gone were the in person coffee meetings, happy hour discussions and live FEI meetings. Thus, the Program for the Partners had to shift.
Partners play a valuable role in our Chapter. They share their knowledge within their industry via presentations and informative publications. By networking with our Members, relationships are formed that may not have come to fruition. Our partners have done an excellent job adjusting to the current virtual environment. This is a portion of the Partner’s Program summary that shifted due to the pandemic:
The FEI Portland Chapter Annual Sponsorship Program, “Partners of FEI”, allows local representatives of national sponsors and other local companies the opportunity to participate in local events including, virtual Chapter and professional development meetings, recognition in the monthly newsletter as well as participation in Chapter virtual social events. When live meetings resume, Partners will be allowed to attend monthly dinner programs and professional development meetings including attendance at Chapter social events.
I would also like to call out the great job Roger Rowe, our Programs Chair, and his committee are doing to provide excellent and timely content with the virtual events that have replaced our live meetings this year. His leadership and the involvement of the Partners and Board members who are part of the committee is no easy task. As members, I hope you have had a chance to attend these. The events require much planning and involve an orchestration of the people involved and assistance from our friends at the National office of FEI. Thank you all who have contributed this year!
Golf Tournament | Tuesday, July 27 | Langdon Farms: We are very excited that we have the golf tournament on our schedule! This is an excellent opportunity for Partners and Members to safely socialize and get out and tryout your golf game. I know from my experience that golf in the pandemic offers a safe way to find some normalcy (I just wish that my handicap was improving J). With vaccinations increasing in our state and communities, we all hope that this event can be enjoyed by many of you. Whether or not you are a golfer, the dinner, drinks and camaraderie can be enjoyed by all.
Finally, I will close with sound advice that President Doug Adler offered last month. If you haven’t already, try getting more involved in the FEI Portland Chapter of FEI by joining one of our Committees (Programs, Membership, Partners, Social, Academic Night, etc.) or consider getting involved as a Board Member in the future. This is an excellent way to connect with members, partners and the board. With those connections, you can improve knowledge, grow your network and help our Chapter become the best that it can be!
Sincerely,
Brad Blickle
FEI Portland Partner Chair
