SIM Portland Thanksgiving - 11/28/2021

Dear Chapter Members

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for being part of such a wonderful IT community, and to also thank all those in volunteer positions in the Chapter for their dedication and gift of their time. There are many Chapter programs and activities. From the Board of Directors, to those involved with the different committees, from the Golf Tournament, to STEM outreach, and to the Book Club. And we are growing them as well, with the CIO Enclaves and Member SIGs (Special Interest Groups) being launched and planned.

Thanksgiving is a great tradition. It is not a holiday that I grew up with in England, but when I settled in the Pacific Northwest, it is one that I happily embraced. Whilst there is a huge commercialization of the holiday, the idea for taking time to give thanks for what we have is an important act. This is even more true in times of disruption and change, and COVID-19 certainly created that! So I hope you were able to spend time with family, friends or your pets and be thankful for all the good things in your life.

It has been interesting experience leading SIM Portland during a pandemic. We have had to switch from in person to online events, and put many activities on hold until the public health situation blows over. And that has certainly taken time. I was fortunately to spend thine with colleagues at the 2021 SIM National Executive Retreat earlier this month. It was great to be back in person, admittedly with vaccination certificates and daily health checks. We look forward to the New Year and to plan for more in person events as they become possible to have safely and minimizing the risk to those attending.

I appreciate the friendship and support from everyone in my SIM family. I wish you all the best for this Thanksgiving and Holiday season, and look forward to more in person events and "seeing" everyone again outside the Hollywood Squares world of Zoom and Teams. 

 
Cheers, Richard.
SIM Portland President 2020-2022
richard@simpdx.org



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