President's
Message
As I accept the title of
President, I would like to first thank those that thought of me for this position,
and to also thank all of you that are about to help me out this next year.
Some of you don't even realize it yet, but you will be helping me!
Some of you may not know who I am or why I am here, so I thought I would tell you about my history in WIIT.
I had heard about WIIT through my coworker, Barbara Wanner (a former President and now Board member) and had thought about joining for several years. I finally joined in 1999 as a way to learn about other jobs and to meet other people interested in international trade. I was asked if I wanted to co-chair the professional development section so I said, "Sure, why not."
The committee had put on several programs when I got a call to see if I wanted to be VP of Programs. So, I became VP of Programs under Monique Roske who was President at that time. The position was a perfect fit for my job and I got to meet a lot of people. I also had to give a few introductions at some WIIT Wides, which definitely helped my public speaking skills!
Then I became a member of the WIIT board and then President-Elect and now President. Whew!!
Some of the great benefits of my WIIT involvement have been:
However, the real purpose of this story is to show you all the great things that someone like me and YOU can get out of WIIT: networking opportunities, public speaking skills, chances for leadership, friendship and most of all - things to add to the resume that in turn create opportunities for career advancement.
I look forward to working with you all this year. I am committed to continuing WIIT's strong traditions and am hopeful that together we can make it even better.
Sincerely,
Tonya Kemp
_______________________________