Each year, the incoming Board of Directors meet in January to help develop an operational plan for the upcoming year. This year the Board was also tasked with re-developing a three-year strategic plan for the organization. To help with this auspicious task, Rich Morris of ROI Consulting and The Veterinary Cooperative volunteered his time and expertise to lead the group through a rigorous strategic planning process.

This year, we met in an amazing home just outside of Orlando in the days leading up to the VMX Conference. Discussions revolved around the exciting growth opportunities for the organization and the genuine growing pains that come along with any rapid business growth. The takeaway for this Board was the necessity of putting infrastructure in place that will allow the IAAHPC to expand its reach from a small association to a large association with an increasingly diverse membership. We also quickly realized that we need to be able to share these organization milestones, changes, and background with our membership and encourage our members to use their own strengths and passions to help us grow together. To this end, we committed to holding a “State of the IAAHPC” presentation each year at a conference for those members interested in the growth of the organization. We also plan to conduct market research to help us better provide programming, benefits, and value opportunities for our members. We are committed to elevating our level of programming for animal hospice, palliative care, and end-of-life professionals.

The Board retreat also allows Board members to get to know each other and help develop new working relationships. We spent three days working, cooking and living together and are very excited about the Board process for this upcoming year!

Keep your eyes peeled for surveys and other requests from the IAAHPC to help us get to know our members better and to serve you better!

Cheers to 2020!

– Tyler Carmack, 2020 IAAHPC President