CHAPTER NEWS
October 2020
President's Message:
September was a great month for our chapter and I cannot wait for what is to come in October! We were FINALLY able to gather together last month! It was refreshing to see each other in person and not through a computer screen. We enjoyed delicious food, specialty cocktails, photo booth fun and created beautiful floral arrangements full of color!
Not only did we have our first in-person meeting since March, we were able to donate our time last month for a second round over at FeedMore!
We also worked behind the scenes to create a promotional video for our chapter. Our vision is to use this video to launch the student membership scholarship with Virginia State University and J Sargeant Reynolds. I cannot wait to share the video with you all!
This month we look forward to the 2021 Board of Directors Elections. We have made steps in 2020 as a board and chapter to better serve our members and local events community and we want to ensure that those actions continue through to 2021 and beyond. I am excited to announce the 2021 candidates listed below. I look forward to seeing everyone virtually later this month for our elections and town hall member meeting.
Your Chapter President,
Jamie Adams, CPCE
Member Spotlight
MaryAnn Webb
MaryAnn is the owner of MaryAnn Blooms, a local floral company founded in 2018. Prior to moving to Richmond, MaryAnn co-owned a floral wholesale in Houston, Texas for 22 years. While co-owning the wholesale she designed weddings, events, and even taught brides how to do their own flowers.
Last month, MaryAnn gave us all an opportunity to be florists of our own with a floral arrangement workshop for our monthly meeting. MaryAnn loves unusual and unique arrangements, and she certainly provided us with the opportunity to do so ourselves. We are so thankful MaryAnn took the dive with us into our first in-person meeting. MaryAnn is also an outstanding member of our membership committee!
We are so excited to share her talents with you. Stay tuned as we highlight her on our social media pages throughout the month!
Upcoming Meetings
October 27, 2020
IT'S TIME TO VOTE
Join us on Tuesday October 27, 2020 for our MEMBERS ONLY October meeting, which will include elections for the 2021 Board. This month's meeting will be virtual.
The 2020 Board voted to sponsor (2) student members. As we cover the full cost of one student, we are asking our members to match the cost of the second student. Donations for our student membership are being collected through ticket.
Diversity Initiative:
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Board Statement
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The board released a statement on June 11th regarding the ongoing injustice and racism in our country. We realize that our statement was late. We, as a board, wanted to take the time to educate ourselves, listen to webinars and podcasts, and become well informed before making a formal statement to our members. We recognize that there is a current issue and need for change within our local catering & event industry and our chapter. We WILL do better.
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Diversity Committee
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We have added a diversity committee which will be overseen by the Director of Membership. This group of racially diverse members will work to recruit new black members and retain the involvement of current members of color. This committee will curate black speakers to educate members on topics like racism and inequality within the event industry, promote black owned businesses and members through #unitythroughcommunity, and facilitate meaningful connections and conversations between our members.
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Re-allocating Funds
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Quarterly donations to organizations both locally and nationally to support BLM
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A donation has already been made in honor of Aleya Harris to the Equal Justice Initiative. Thank you Aleya for having a candid conversation with our members about racism and allyship within the wedding and events industry. You can watch the replay here.
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Sponsor a student member from a local HBCU, Virginia State University or Virginia Union University.
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Updating our current and future monthly programs to include Black speakers & education as well as partnering with local Black catering & event professionals to showcase their work
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A Message From NACE National
Taking Action
The past month has been a pivotal turning point in the fight against racism and for an equitable and inclusive future. As an organization, NACE values diversity and condemns racism, and we acknowledge that we have some work to do to create an inclusive and anti-racist community.
As communicated on June 5, the NACE National Board is committed to beginning a diversity and inclusion initiative as an immediate priority. We have committed to doing this through an action plan that listens to NACE members and is fully transparent. We are pleased to share this plan with you today.
The plan is aligned with our strategic pillars as an organization and lays out actions we can take now and in the immediate future. This plan will evolve and grow to include additional strategies, steps, and phases as we listen to members, leaders, and consultants.
NACE cannot be exceptional as an organization if we ignore issues that affect our community, the clients of our members, and our nation. We ask all members to join us in support of this critical initiative.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the National office at info@nace.net, 410-290-5410, or via chat on nace.net.
We're Here For You!
When the first impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic hit the catering and events industry, NACE moved quickly to support members The National Board has enacted several resources and measures to maintain our strong, vibrant community. We have expanded the membership grace period to 120 days, introduced flexible installment plans, expanded online education, and more.
