We made it through "March Madness"! Now that the Men's and Women's Final Four stages are set, I must extend huge congratulations and kudos to the UH Cougars men's team for making it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen! There were so many surprises and hard-fought wins in this year's NCAA basketball tournaments. I'm looking forward to the excitement of the championship games coming up.

Speaking of schedules and stages being set, we have lots to look forward to at ATD Houston this month, and beyond. The team has been busy preparing for this year's Virtual Technology Conference. Join us on April 18th for a day of virtual learning and networking. Be sure to register before the early bird pricing ends! ATD Houston Virtual Technology Conference

Also, if you plan to register for the ATD24 International Conference & EXPO, sign up to join the ATD Houston Chapter team, and you will receive a code for the chapter team discount savings. Early bird pricing ends on April 5th. We look forward to seeing you and learning alongside you in New Orleans. ATD International Conference

BIG NEWS!! We've successfully re-launched our Geographic Interest Group and Special Interest Group sessions with our first event of the year in Sugar Land just recently. Thank you to all who attended and all involved in planning and sponsoring the event. I look forward to seeing our members connect at sessions in The Woodlands and Memorial areas in the coming weeks. Thank you to all committees involved for the hard work and collaboration on getting this done.

Please check out our events calendar and register for an event that suits you! I look forward to seeing YOU at an in-person or online event this month.

With kindness,

Harriett Pritchett, ATD Houston 2024 President

Howdy, fellow Houstonians! It's Rodeo time. I think about growing up in Houston, looking forward to the carnival and livestock show every year. Anytime I meet someone not from Houston, they ask about the Rodeo. I recognize that the Rodeo is part of our identity as Houstonians. I'll never forget the year the event was canceled due to the pandemic. I no longer take the festivities for granted. I'm still determining which night I'll get to attend this year, but I do plan on going!

This made me reflect on the question: What is ATD Houston known for? When I think of ATD Houston, I think of the vast resources we make available to our members. From our General meeting speakers to our professional development workshops, webinars, study groups, special interest groups, and deep dive meet-ups. There is no shortage of resources for continuous learning and development. The bonus is our community of professionals who are always willing to support and encourage each other's learning journey. When you think of ATD Houston, what comes to mind for you?

It was great to hear how you are taking advantage of the resources ATD Houston has to offer during February's Call-a-Thon. Thank you to everyone who answered our calls and provided candid feedback about the value you're getting from your membership. We also thank you for letting us know what could improve your membership experience. I'm sending a huge thank you to our membership committee and KUDOS for planning the outreach effort. And a huge thanks to the entire board of volunteers for making the calls and capturing insights from the conversations.

 Join us at an upcoming event and see your feedback in action. One to note is our upcoming Virtual Technology Conference. We have a great lineup of speakers with all the hot tech topics you need to take your talent development know-how to the next level. Plus a raffle entry for those in the group of first people 40 to register.

Please check out our events calendar and register for an event that suits you! I look forward to seeing YOU at an in-person or online event (and maybe even at the Rodeo) this month!!

With kindness,

Harriett Pritchett, ATD Houston 2024 President

Dear Talent Development Community,

Here's the Groundhog Day news! Phil didn't see his shadow for the first time in two years, so Spring is just around the corner! All fellow gardening and plant enthusiasts will be pleased with this verdict.

While I'm looking forward to Spring, I'm also thankful for progress towards our ATD Houston chapter goals. In January, we held our first general meeting and two webinar sessions of the year. The speakers were great, and their presentations were packed with practical and actionable take-aways. I want to congratulate our programming teams on hitting the ground running with successful events to kick off the year.

I'm looking forward to more great sessions this month and next, plus our fantastic Technology Conference coming up in April. Please check out our events calendar and register for an event that suits you!

As a team, the ATD Houston Executive Board set intentions to "Grow Together ." We want to learn as much as we can as chapter leaders while providing the best experience possible for our members. So far, we've been doing just that! I hope that you are also getting into a rhythm for the year. Hopefully, you are tracking well with the intentions you set and experiencing some early wins to keep your momentum going. ATD Houston wants to be part of your support system for achieving your goals.

We want to know…how can we provide you more value as a chapter? We appreciate your participation in the recent survey. Throughout the year, we'll continue seeking your feedback via text messages, phone calls, and in-person conversations! We can still have in-person conversations, can't we?!? We'll use your input to help shape future professional development and networking opportunities. So please be on the lookout for requests for feedback and continued conversations about how we can continue to make our chapter the best it can be!

Thank you for your ongoing support, and we look forward to an exciting year ahead as we continue to "Grow Together!"

Harriett Pritchett, M.Ed., CPTD©
ATD Houston 2024 Chapter President

Dear Talent Development Community, 

First, Happy New Year! This is one of my favorite times of year because it represents possibility, potential, and anticipation for great things to come. It is also the perfect time for reflection. Looking back on 2023 makes me proud to be part of the Houston Talent Development Community. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work alongside such talented leaders and witness firsthand what happens when teams work together to accomplish their goals. Because of our team's dedication, commitment, and leadership, we achieved great success for and with the ATD Houston chapter membership. 

A few of our significant achievements were

• Held our annual Technology and Fall Talent Development Conference events. 
• Facilitated 2 CPTD Study Groups. 
• Received recognition as Chapter of the Month 
• Relaunched the ATD Houston Pinnacle Awards

I must thank Lisa Torreano, our most recent Past President, and all our board members, chapter members, volunteers, and sponsors. Your time, effort, and contributions helped us get closer to achieving our vision of Inspiring talent development professionals to achieve their full potential.

Our success as a chapter depends on your success as a talent development professional. In 2024, we will build on our past year's success to continue our mission of Growing talent development professionals through creative programming and networking to discover and achieve unprecedented performance levels. Our leadership team met this past December to review and map our plan for programs and membership offerings. I am excited about the creative programming and networking we are committed to bringing you this year. 

I invite you to reflect on what you achieved in 2023 and what you want to build on for 2024. What new possibilities and potential does your team want to unlock this year, and how can ATD Houston be a resource for you? Once again, cheers to 2024, and I look forward to seeing you at an in-person or online event this month. 

With Kindness,

Harriett Pritchett
ATD Houston President, 2024

Talent development leaders and practitioners collectively answer the call to provide support and guidance to those who develop the knowledge and skills of employees in organizations. However, a more critical and urgent call requirements our collective attention and response. The month of January represents many things. It may mean setting a specific resolution; it may mean a fresh start and perspective on an idea or interest to others. However, the month of January also represents National Blood Donor Month. Did you know that the nation's blood supply is at its all-time lowest? This month's national supply had dipped to levels that the Red Cross says it had not seen in ten years. Blood shortages have become a national epidemic.

Communities throughout the U.S. are experiencing blood shortages more frequently and for prolonged periods due to disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our most vulnerable may be someone you know with cancer, pregnant, or someone living with sickle cell disease. A sobering fact is that while one in seven hospitalized people will need a blood transfusion in a lifetime, only one in 20 eligible blood donors donate. There is no substitute for blood, and your donation saves lives.

So how can you help? You can help by joining our collective efforts to get the word out to our family, friends, and colleagues about the importance of donating blood in such a critical time of need. You can create a fundraising page to support the mission, whether it is by running in a marathon, donating your birthday, or anything else. You can donate by Text REDCROSS to 90999 to support Disaster Relief efforts with a $10 donation.

Finally, make it a goal to participate in your organization's scheduled blood drives. The Red Cross (www.redcrossblood.org) is an excellent resource to find donation opportunities that genuinely can make a difference in our communities. Additionally, the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center (giveblood.org) is a wonderful resource in providing safe and accurate guidance on donating blood and fundraising for the cause. After you donate in the manner you choose post to your social media and tag #ATDHou to collectively rejoice in your efforts as a community of professionals. 

In closing, please remember that more than 33,000 daily blood donations are required throughout the U.S. to meet patient needs. Be the difference in potentially saving a life by making blood donation a habit for you, your friends, and your family this January. The talent development community can pave the way through our actions and compassion to help alleviate this crisis of blood donations. 

Donna Hailey, 2022 ATD Houston President

As 2021 comes to a close, I want to take a moment and reflect on the year that was. ATD Houston was successful this year because of you, our chapter members. You continued to develop employees, help people upgrade their skills, and lead your companies. Also, you found time to attend ATD Houston Events. ATD Houston has remained programming virtually during this challenging time despite our best efforts. But you have continued to upgrade your skills by attending ATD Houston Events. These included virtual GIG, SIG, General Meetings, and our Annual Technology Conference in the Spring and Talent Development Conference in the fall.

I want to pause here to thank the 2021 Board for all their hard work. Donna Hailey-President-Elect, Sandhya Lakhanpal-Vice President Membership, Brittanni Below-Vice President Finance, Jasmyne Patterson-Vice President Groups, Harriett Pritchett-Vice President Programs, Kent Nutell-"Interim" Vice President Professional Development, both Bruce Abbott-Vice President Marketing and Communication and Gloria Alvarez who stepped in halfway through the year when Bruce had to step down, and finally Debbie Richards-Past President. This group has been the glue that held us together for 2021 as we continued to suffer the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and ATD Houston would not function without them.

We look forward to 2022 and what we can bring to the table for Talent Development in the Houston area. May you and your family have a Happy Holiday, and we look forward to seeing you in 2022.

Summer has arrived in the Houston area with a vengeance with highs approaching 100 degrees already. You ATD leadership team has been hard at work putting together some equally “hot” events. First, let me encourage everyone to put the ATD Houston Virtual Fall Conference on their calendars for October 13 through 14. This day and a half virtual conference is being geared to talk about how Talent Development impacts change as we move back to the basic skills using the ATD Capability Model. We are very excited to announce that our featured keynote speaker will be Sardek Love. Visit the conference home page HERE to read more about the conference.

Secondly, I want to encourage everyone to attend our July General Meeting on July 13 where Houston’s own technology guru and ATD Houston Past President, Debbie Richards will be presenting What’s New? Moving to Hybrid Meetings. As we all begin to move towards the reopening and move to our “new normal” this will inform you on some best practices.

Finally, as you may recall ATD Houston had planned on moving to hybrid meetings for July. In May I talked about that and about how ATD Houston, like many of you, struggled with 2020 and the first half of 2021 due to impacts on our revenues. The reality is that not every venue is open at this point. For example, the United Way of Greater Houston, where we have held most of our meetings over the past several years, may not reopen until January 2022. The programs team, led by our V.P. of Programs Harriett Pritchard looked for viable alternatives but were unable to find a location that enabled us to meet in an affordable manner for July. We are continuing to look and will keep everyone informed. At this point we are hoping to have an in-person meeting in September. We are also looking at having a Happy Hour Networking event at a local restraint/bar in August. More to come on that later.

I want to thank everyone for their resilience over the past year and a half as your ATD Chapter navigated the COVID crisis. It is our goal to continue to provide value for the greater Houston talent development community.

Talk soon.

Robert

Happy May everyone. I hope you and your family are doing well as we begin to emerge from the COVID-19 Pandemic. We have had a great first four months of 2021 that included a fantastic technology conference put on by our programs team. I wanted to send this note out to our membership to provide you an update on where ATD Houston is on moving back to in-person events as well as provide an update on our virtual programming. 

At our Board Meeting on May 3, the Board of Directors voted to begin a hybrid version of programming beginning in July. A hybrid version means that there will be both in-person and virtual options of the meeting available. The plan is to begin with our General Meeting for that month. Naturally this will only occur if we stay on the current trajectory. During May and June we will be developing the protocols for meetings to ensure everyone’s safety and those will be announced in late June. 

With this change to our programming we will also make another change. At the beginning of the pandemic your Board of Directors shifted all programming to virtual only. Recognizing that times were difficult we also suspended payments for all programs so that we could support the Talent Development community in the Houston area. Like many of you, 2020 was a difficult time for the Houston ATD Chapter. Our chapter relies on three primary streams of income: memberships, programs, and sponsors. The pandemic disrupted two of those streams; programs and sponsors. While the board was diligent and reduced as many expenses as possible we do have fixed costs that cannot be changed. While we have maintained a positive balance thanks to our previous years where we managed to save reserves, our income dropped significantly. With this in mind we will also be moving back to a fee based approach for all of our programs in July as well. This will help us continue to support the Talent Development community in the Houston area by keeping the chapter on a stable financial footing. 

If you have any questions regarding this change please feel free to reach out to me or any of our board members. I look forward to the rest of 2021 and seeing everyone very soon. 

Robert Cocheu, CPTD
2021 President
ATD Houston

Good Monday morning ATD Houston. I am honored to be moving into the office of President for ATD Houston for 2021 in January. It is a huge privilege and responsibility. Before we go any further, I want to extend the most heartfelt gratitude to our 2020 President, Debbie Richards for all of her hard work this past year. As a board, she has led and mentored us, and made sure we met the needs of ATD Houston during this incredibly difficult time. We could not have done any of it without her. I also want to thank the 2020 board. This group of individuals has worked with their teams to ensure we filled programing needs during 2020.

I believe we hold the future of work in the Houston area in our hands and it is up to us to ensure that individuals have the skills necessary to do that work. One way we do that is by ensuring that our programs match what our community, (you) tells us they need. We do this by issuing an annual survey. You should have received the survey last week. I want to encourage every one of you to go out and take the brief survey. 

Thank you for your hard work and I look forward to serving all of you during 2021.

2020 has been a challenging year! Thank you so much for your support of the chapter this year. We had two in-person events this year before switching to virtual events. Our events teams were quick to "adapt and swivel" as we had a number of webinars and on-line events - everything from our two-day Fall conference to informal meet-ups just to stay in touch.  We hope our programming was interesting and engaging for you! 

The annual Employee Learning Week events are scheduled for the week of Dec. 7-11. We hope you will take the time to celebrate learning in your organization as well as take time for your own professional development. Please join us!

The ATD Houston Gives initiative for 2020 will benefit the Houston Food Bank. Please consider at least a $10 donation to help those Houstonians in need. Go to https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/Celebrations/Fundraiser452 to make your donation. Thanks in advance for helping with our fund raising effort.

It has been my honor to serve as President of the 2020 ATD Houston board. I now move forward into the role of past president and mentor. I look forward to "seeing" you virtually soon - and with high hopes of seeing you in-person in 2021.