A Tale of Twin Cities

IABC PPR Communications Director Jay Farrell shares his thoughts on the two-day board meeting in Minneapolis.

The IABC Pacific Plains Region board met in person last week in Minneapolis. A meeting in Minnesota in late October gave me visions of squalls and the “frozen tundra,” but luckily for this California kid the weather turned out fine. It was a bit rainy, but that did not do anything to take away from the beauty of the city and the mighty Mississippi River. It says “Twin Cities” in the title of this blog and I would be remiss if I did not also mention St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota, and a city full of history and grand architecture.

A beautiful backdrop for a productive meeting
This was the first time the regional board was able to sit in a real room together to share our ideas and talk through the objectives for the coming year. As a board, our primary directives are to support chapter leaders and members throughout the Pacific Plains region. We have ideas and are ready to share our areas of focus.

Supporting our members at all levels
Our support for members this year will be in two areas:

1. Member Retention. We are IABC members for a variety of reasons and we want to amplify those stories. Engaging our members and making them feel connected to the IABC community is a priority.
2. Supporting our leaders. IABC has a long history of local volunteer leadership that is the heart and soul of communication communities across the globe. We will be supporting our chapter leaders to reinforce the value of membership.

Leaning into IABC as a new member
On a personal note, as someone new to IABC, this past week was a great learning experience. I came away with a greater appreciation of the dedicated volunteers who are at the heart of this organization. In addition to the board meeting, we had a chance to tour the Twin Cities and learn all about the history of the region. Fun fact: our tour guide turned out to be a past IABC member!

We took time to check out the dining scene in town, as we met up with some of our fellow IABC members from the Minnesota chapter for a storied IABC tradition, the Dine Around. This was a great way to meet people, make connections, and have a fun night out.

I left the Twin Cities with a profound sense of accomplishment, excited at all that we achieved and the prospect of the coming year. I also left with a sense of gratitude and a feeling of community, which reminds me why I joined IABC in the first place (I also left with a sense of relief as the temperature was meant to drop 40 degrees the day after my departure!). A big thank you to my fellow board members and everyone who came out to meet us. “Minnesota Nice” is a real thing, and you made this California kid feel right at home.

Jay Farrell is a member of the SF Bay Area chapter of IABC and is based in San Francisco, California.