There was a time many years ago when CAPIO was at a crossroads. The annual conference was held in a smaller hotel meeting space, the finances were getting scarce and association leadership had to change direction and dig in to make sure CAPIO survived.

Fast forward to 2024, and CAPIO is again at a crossroads. But this time, it’s a very different situation facing our organization. Membership is at an all-time high. Conference attendance is breaking records. We have a record number of sponsors and partnerships. And our financial situation is solid.

As my fellow board members know, I like to say, “at CAPIO, we only have good problems.” Thanks to the stewardship of past presidents, dedicated board members and our awesome association management team at ORRganized Events, CAPIO is well-positioned for the future.

During my upcoming year as president, I have a couple of issues to work on to hopefully position CAPIO for continued success in the years ahead.

First, how to continue to our growth while maintaining the family “vibe” of our organization. There’s a reason 700 of us come together at our conferences. It’s where you reconnect with friends from across the state and meet new ones every year. Networking is the hallmark of CAPIO.

It’s astonishing to think that we had around 280 first-time attendees this year. The challenge for our organization is to keep them involved and engaged with CAPIO. We need to make sure we are providing the resources and educational opportunities they find valuable and that help them advance their careers.

At the other end of the spectrum, CAPIO has many experienced members who have been in the industry for 15, 20, 25 or more years. While we rely on these members often for their expertise, we as an organization must make sure we are providing them with high-level learning opportunities and programming on new innovations and current trends.

To that end, we will be bringing together our Past Presidents Circle and a cross-section of some of our long-time members to help us better address the needs of those who have been with CAPIO for many years.

Another area we are going to focus on is increasing our membership in areas that still have room for growth like school districts, health care, law enforcement and fire. The broader our membership, the more perspectives we can share and learn from.

You are hopefully aware that we added a new board position during our elections earlier this year. We are extremely fortunate that former President Christine Brainerd, APR, will be our new Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives Chair. Through her past service on the board and many years as a CAPIO member, Christine has already built relationships with many organizations across the state and nation. We want to continue to position CAPIO as the leading resource and advocate for communications professionals. Christine will be working on getting CAPIO in front of these other groups, having our members present at their conferences and finding ways for us to partner with other organizations on initiatives and projects.

Your CAPIO board values feedback from members. In addition to our member survey and conference survey, we held a listening session on the last day of the conference this year.

President-Elect Brie Coleman, APR, and I heard from a cross-section of members who had many great things to say about CAPIO, but also gave us some valuable feedback on ideas for new education opportunities and their thoughts on the future of CAPIO.

I am looking forward to what the year ahead holds for our organization. CAPIO has had a tremendous impact on me – from helping me get over my fear of public speaking to the lifelong friendships I’ve made with several of you. I certainly hope your experience is or will be similar.

We’re here to serve you and make sure CAPIO is meeting your needs as a communications professional.

My inbox at thomas.christensen@sdcounty.ca.gov is always open for feedback, suggestions or questions. The phone numbers for all CAPIO board members can be found at https://www.capio.org/board-directors. We’d love to hear from you.

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