As we plan our 2021 conference, we are faced with the same dilemma as last year; the only difference is we are now more informed and prepared. While we may end up with a completely virtual conference this year, it is still my greatest hope that we are able to find a balance between meeting in person and watching online.

I have reached out to our contact at Hilton Embassy Suites and was provided with their safety action plan:

2020 will be remembered as the year everything was cancelled—including the annual OWFI conference. Canceling the conference almost happened plenty of times, but this was the first time in 52 years that it actually happened. You might say, “Man! I’d hate to be THAT president!” Actually…I’m grateful to be president this year. I’m grateful that the board has agreed to let me stay on as president until we DO finally bridge this gap. I’m also grateful for such a fantastic team. What could easily tear our organization apart has done nothing but bring us closer together, figuratively speaking of course.

Thank you for your patience as we took the necessary time to explore all our options before responding to the COVID-19 situation.

Unfortunately, the Bridging the Gap Conference for May 2020 is now cancelled.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It has all the food and family I can handle with no stress of buying presents, yet… One of my favorite traditions growing up was setting up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving.

In my excitement of completing my first blog post, I emailed it from work to myself, but sent it to the wrong email address. When I went to retrieve it, to my chagrin it was no where to be found. Here I was “technically” not waiting until the last minute, only to be thwarted by an error in a couple of keystrokes. Self-sabotage or humorous anecdote to segue into the meat of my post?

Well, everything else that happened in next hours to get from point A to point B, wasn’t even close to a straight shot, so I’m going to go with humorous anecdote. Besides, I will not embrace any kind of sabotage whether self-inflicted or otherwise. As Morpheus says, “No, what happened, happened, and couldn’t have happened any other way.”

With that said, please follow me down the rabbit hole…

Hello, OWFI!

The 2019 OWFI Turning the Page Conference is in just one month!

If you haven’t registered yet, now is the time! Go to www.owfi.org/register right now to register, and then come back and finish reading this post!

It’s February, the month of love. And what do I love about OWFI? Let me count the ways: the volunteers (you!); the excellent faculty lineup; the devoted officers, board, staff, and committee chairs; the fun costume contest; the inspiring basket wars, the themed luncheons, the exciting banquets…and the list could go on and on.

Hello, OWFI!

Can you believe the holidays are already upon us? Traditions are important to me, and the holidays are a time to reflect on current traditions and add new ones. It’s also a good time to look forward to the new year just around the bend. Soon, I’ll begin setting writing goals for 2019. I’m a big believer in goal setting. I’ll set a large, overarching goal for the year and then break it down into smaller, more realistic goals to meet each month.

Happy Almost-Fall, OWFI!

Fall is just around the corner, and with it will come cooler temperatures, fall festivals, gorgeous foliage, fun costumes on Halloween, and family gatherings at Thanksgiving. For these reasons and more, fall has always been my favorite season.

Happy Summer, OWFI!

Summer is in full swing! It’s the time of year for vacations and staycations, for beaches and mountains, for reuniting with family and gathering with friends.