On September 30, Fridays@4 transitioned into a new leadership cycle and celebrated the work under the outgoing President, Paul Weintraub and learned what to expect during the next leadership cycle with our new President, Shelly Trent. 

Paul kicked off the session by sharing the timeline of Fridays@4 from its inception in 2020 after the ASAE Annual Meeting to where we are now in our first leadership transition.

Fridays@4 began when a few people came together and recognized a need for an organization that could connect virtually while providing peer support and continuing education to assist those who were seeking their next opportunity during the pandemic or just wanted a way to connect with others while learning new skills.

The initial Board included Paul Weintraub as President/CEO, Shelly Trent as President Elect, Heather Story as Treasurer, Vita Washington as Secretary and Kenjie Davis as Membership Director. This Board has put in a tremendous amount of work with the help of committees and volunteers over the last two years. Their key accomplishments include:

• 2 keys sponsors with ASAE the first year and Conference Direct the second year.
• Approved to be a CAE credit provider by ASAE
• Approved to be a 501c3 organization
• Held 100+ continuing education sessions
• 500 contacts with 400 being members in the database
• Weekly enewsletter
• $3,000+ in donations to help offset operating expenses

The new Board is beginning their work starting October 1st. The new Board includes Shelly Trent as President, Heather Story as President Elect, Marjie George as Secretary, Vita Washington as Secretary and Kenjie Davis as Director.

Shelly shared her goals and mentioned that they will be reviewed by the Board this week. Some suggested goals are:

• Fundraise enough money for 2 years of reserves
• Develop more programs focused on nonprofit and association management
• Collaborate with like entities, i.e. ASAE, Association Forum, State Society of Association Executives
• Create a better member onboarding experience and do additional research around member value
• Expanding online content 
• Increase membership to 1,000 members by year end 2023
• Develop fee-based programs

Shelly is seeking ideas that she can share with the Board for possible implementation. If you have any ideas on how we can build upon our current momentum, please email Fridays@4 at info@fridaysat4.org.

Fridays@4 is 100% volunteer driven and our work would not be possible without the dedication of our current and incoming volunteers. We are always looking for people to assist us with our efforts. If you are able to help, please visit our volunteer web page.