Welcome ASTD Nebraska members and potential members! It is a great honor to serve as your 2012 chapter President. My goal in this position is to be a servant to you and guide the chapter in a manner that is beneficial to all members. I have over 10 years of leadership and volunteer experience and will use that experience to add to the legacy our past chapter leaders have built.
The mission of our chapter is to enhance member’s abilities to train, develop, and support clients and organizations and our local and global communities. We will approach this mission by brining you programs, evens, and learning opportunities that are relevant to your needs and the organizations your serve.
ASTD Nebraska has been a major contributor to my professional and personal success. In 2002, my mentor told me about the chapter and strongly encouraged me to join. She told me that I will learn from experts in the WLP industry and build a strong professional network. It’s been 10 years, since I joined and I am continuing to build my network, and I have enjoyed every minute.
I’ve dedicated myself to the chapter and served on the board in a variety of roles since 2008. Roles included Director of Education, VP of Education, and President Elect. In each of these roles, I partnered with committee members and fellow board member. A few of our accomplishments were: redesigning Trainer’s Institute to provide more flexibility for participants and volunteers; increasing the number of member only CPLP resources; creating a mentoring handbook for members and organizations; dedicating our scholarship program; and co-chairing our regional event which brought in world class speakers Jack Zenger, Ralph Kilman, Brad Starr, Andrea Nierenberg, Jim Smith, and Todd Mitchem.
Volunteering and giving back to our chapter and community is an amazing feeling. I have challenged our board this year to seek opportunities as to how we all can give back to our chapter and community. We have a network of members with a superior skill set that has the potential to impact several lives of members and our community. I encourage everyone to get involved no matter how big or small. According to author Mark Sanborn, “the power of giving, teaches us to look beyond ourselves…and it helps to make the world a little bit better.”
I am honored to serve as the 2012 ASTD Nebraska Chapter President. I can’t wait to be a part of your continued personal and professional success for years to come.
Thank you.
April Kassen, CPLP,
CBA,
MA
ASTD Nebraska Chapter President
President@astdnebraska.org
