(December 2021) – As I was driving home from the KAHRMM Strategic Planning Meeting, I had plenty of time (four hours) to reflect on KAHRMM ... the conception of the organization through today and what the future may hold for KAHRMM. Thinking about KAHRMM over the years, it has been a very successful organization with the best leaders an organization could recruit. Things were going along at a normal pace, then the COVID pandemic began and there was no normal as we had known it.

Randy Lott had written an article in the July 2020 KAHRMM Newsletter discussing normal, above normal, abnormal, and are we satisfied with normalcy as we know it today. It was a very thought-provoking article. Now, how does this affect KAHRMM? Did we become complacent? Individuals and organizations become complacent as things remain "normal" and everything appears to be running smoothly. However, when COVID appeared on the scene, it gave a wake-up call for the KAHRMM Board. The organization was not able to carry out its mission to its members, which is to assist members through education, networking and mentoring opportunities.

With every cloud, there is a rainbow. The pandemic did send a wake-up call to the KAHRMM Board to not become complacent but to look at opportunities to make it a better organization for its members. With the strategic planning discussions, the board is refocusing on today's needs for all levels of supply chain professionals and how we can meet those needs.

As Corey Schmidt stated "How does KAHRMM continue to be abnormal (above normal) in a world with no travel budget for education, supplier and facility consolidation, and (based on stats) an aging workforce nearing retirement. There is a need for KAHRMM, but will KAHRMM change to meet the needs of the new normal?"

In my opinion, the KAHRMM Board will stand up and meet the challenge. However, the organization is just not about the board and what it can do. The members need to stand up and take the challenge as well. There are a number of committees to serve on that meet your skills and interests, as well as other opportunities for you to be active in one of the greatest chapters in the nation.
--Cindy Howard-Reeves