Back in the spring of 2020, the NWiR Executive Committee and I saw that NWiR needed additional operations, administrative, and programmatic support to be able to continue to grow.

Elizabeth Miller and I were the primary staff members, and the association was also supported by a cast of freelancers like Sarah Harwerth-DeMarco. We knew we needed more. So after a nationwide search, we hired a company that specializes in supporting associations like NWiR: CIVICA Management.

Civica came with a full staff of talented association administrators, and we were delighted to have Kori Sulewlski and Katryna Chamblin assigned to work with us. Over time, Kori received a promotion and then Tanya Arroyo also joined the NWiR team from Civica. Recently, Katryna has also been promoted – which is great for her! She will still be working with NWiR in support of NWiR Day and our events at the regional roofing contractor and IIBEC conventions, but we won’t have her help on membership and council issues on a regular basis. Katryna’s career goal is to be an event planner, a goal which her grandmother inspired. Her grandmother was a church preacher in rural southern Michigan, but she was also an unofficial event planner; she hosted weddings, parties, speakers, summer camps, and even ran a homelessness outreach program for a while. Katryna’s grandmother was the kind of woman who saw when something needed to be done and then she stepped in and took care of it. Hmmm, it reminds me of a few other women I know.

So now, Tanya is on the scene! Tanya has been working with NWiR for several months now and has been promoted into the primary contact for NWiR. Tanya has a great attitude and can see the positive in every situation. She is highly organized, truly kind, and a whiz with resetting passwords on the member database.

I feel truly fortunate that the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, the Council Leaders, and I get to work closely with these talented new and emerging association professionals. Our members see their names and hear their voices frequently, but I wanted to take a minute and focus on them as people too.