Expect Improved Communications

Stacy Brungardt, CAE STFM Executive Director

Your STFM President, Jeri Hepworth, PhD, made an important observation following our April Board meeting. Despite a robust discussion on several important issues during the meeting, she noticed that the highlights we communicated in our bulleted list of Board actions in theMessenger didn’t capture the level of thoughtfulness that went into the discussions. She was right.

Added to this, you told us in the recent member needs survey that you wanted STFM to be a primary source of information for you. So, we’ve got some work to do. As a start, we’re doing a communications audit to review what we’re doing and how you want information delivered to you. You can expect to see changes in how and what we communicate to you about STFM and the discipline. A regular column from me is one change.

But back to those Board meeting communications … so what was noteworthy about the July Board meeting? By far, the most important action was the approval of a 3-year strategic plan. “Ho hum,” you might say. Actually, I find it pretty exciting. The plan includes five key priorities and strategies for the Society based on input from not just your leadership, but from the interviews, survey, and feedback we received from you! This plan will be the roadmap to help define where we devote our time and resources. I find that energizing. Get used to hearing about the strategic plan over the next 3 years, because we’re going to be referring to it often. I want to thank those of you who completed our electronic survey, participated in focus groups, and allowed us to interview you! From the Board’s perspective, your time was well spent and tremendously useful. Thank you for making the choice to be a member of STFM. It is an honor to serve you and the values you represent.