From the desk of NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE:
Due to COVID-19, the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C., has just notified us that it has closed its doors until June, thus cancelling our 2020 Congressional Conference.
NAIFA always does, we come together in challenging times. We have quickly moved to announce that instead of meeting in-person this May, we will instead hold a series of virtual meetings entitled “NAIFA Nation: Impact Week” which we will hold over several days as follows:
Tuesday, May 19th: Diversity Symposium
The Diversity Symposium, led by NAIFA’s volunteer Diversity Task Force, will create a half-day virtual event that focuses on recruiting, training and developing top talent in the financial services industry. The event will be open to members, non-members and corporate partners working in the diversity & inclusivity space.
Wednesday, May 20th: Advocacy in Action Day
While we will not be able to visit Capitol Hill, what we will deliver is experts from our Congressional leaders, Government Relations team and key volunteer leaders to brief us on legislative initiatives and grassroots activation. The Advocacy in Action Day will focus on turning the August recess period for Congress into a “Take it to the Streets” Grassroots Army initiative to conduct in-district visits in every US state capital.
Thursday, May 21st: Chapter Leadership Training Day
Whether a current leader, a leader-elect or a member interested in becoming a leader, the Chapter Leadership Training Day will be conducted by the incoming VP, Member & Chapter Services, Corey Mathews. The session will focus on how to energize and activate NAIFA’s membership to lead us into 2021.
More information to come on registering for these virtual events, but our wish is that even more people will choose to attend and get involved with NAIFA during this crisis. It is in times like these that we turn to our professional association in new and unexpected ways; we want you to know that we are here for you.
For those that have already registered for Congressional Conference, thank you for your support of our advocacy efforts. Expect to see a communication under separate email in the next few days concerning refund options.
Moving to virtual meetings is what we have been progressively doing since we introduced NAIFA Live in 2019, so rest assured, we are well-equipped to manage this change for Congressional Conference. In fact, in case you missed it, we have held Town Halls every day this week at 12 noon eastern to bring NAIFA Nation together. Tomorrow we welcome a long-time NAIFA member, Ryan Pinney, as our guest speaker to talk about moving to a virtual agency model. If you haven’t registered, please join us for the education and camaraderie during these challenging times.
Thank you for your continued support of your professional association and remember that together we can take on anything.
Be well,
Kevin Mayeux, CAE
Chief Executive Officer