Greetings, my Kansas SHRM friends! I hope that 2017 has been good to you so far! I am very excited to be the 2017 Director for Kansas SHRM! I know you all have been busy with all the things that come with an HR job at the beginning of the year, but I hope you will squeeze in a little time for SHRM. We have a lot of exciting plans for this year. Already this year, we had our Kansas SHRM Leadership Academy for our Volunteer Leaders in the wonderful city of Manhattan. Thank you to all of the volunteers who made it out for that event, and thank you for the work that you do for your local Chapters and for the State Council!
We also just wrapped up our 10th Annual Employment Law and Employee Benefits Conference in Topeka, which included a Day on the Hill. With all the changes we have seen and are yet to see, this was the place to be to catch up on employment law and benefits issues! Thank you to everyone who made it out for the conference this year! If you missed it, be sure to keep your eyes out for information on next year's conference! You can get valuable SHRM and HRCI recertification credits and visit our beautiful State Capitol building at the same time, all for a very reasonable price.
We are now gearing up for our annual Kansas SHRM State Conference! Please mark your calendars for September 20-22, 2017 and join us in Overland Park for this amazing event, "Play Ball with HR!" I love going to the State Conference! It is such a great way to network with other HR professionals across the state and get information I need to do my job better. On top of that, we have an awesome lineup of speakers! Be sure to watch your inbox for announcements related to this year's conference and sign up before the Early Bird rate expires on April 20.
Finally, Kansas SHRM will be holding a Strategic Planning Workshop on Friday, June 2, in Salina. I hope you will consider joining us as we set some goals for the Council. The workshop will be submitted for HRCI business credits and is approved for SHRM professional development credits! More information will be coming soon! Once again, I would like to thank you all for your involvement in Kansas SHRM, either through your local Chapter or as an at-large SHRM member!
I hope to see you at one of our upcoming events!
Shelbye Smith
Kansas SHRM Director