We went from the euphoria of a successful first session for the Challenge Class of 2020 on Thursday afternoon on March the 6th to everyone working from home, starting Monday afternoon. I know you each have some version of this story. And while every week since our lives are full of uncertainty please know that we are doing everything we can to not add to your fears.

This time has shown me how resilient and dedicated our Greater Missouri challengers and alumnae are. I have heard from many of you that though we all need to take measures to separate, we must find ways to pull together. And to the credit of our board, we are exploring new ways to encourage personal and professional growth, and building on our framework of making connections to engage women to accelerate their careers and become leaders.

If nothing else, it’s encouraging to see that no matter what, we can still do what we do well. How do we do it, exactly? That’s up to us.

During this time of uncertainty we are thinking of you and wishing you and your loved ones safety and good health. We know it is a difficult time especially being separated from family and friends. Women have always overcome hardships and chaos with the power from within themselves.  From this ordeal, we will emerge stronger than before.

This situation is fluid and in order to help us make smart business decisions, we’ll keep you updated in the coming days on what we’re doing and how we are changing our sessions and events to ensure your safety and participation.

Thanks to today’s technology, we can remain in contact with co-workers, clients, family and friends and be there for one another. At Greater Missouri, we are looking at how to reframe that chaos into energy to help women move forward and create new solutions that we might never have imagined. We are re-envisioning ways to complement our sessions and perhaps add programs to help Greater Missouri women achieve their goals by using digital tools that we must embrace more than ever. We must ensure that the bedrock of our 31 years is not diminished – we must continue to make meaningful connections with one another.

Thank you to our amazing team of volunteers, board members, advisors, regional coordinators, planning session committee members, alumnae conference and Woman of the Year coordinators, and participants in this year’s challenge class; each of whom are showing up in new and creative ways. Their commitment to this work is inspiring.

Thank you to our sponsors, supporters and friends who understand that while many things are changing, the need to invest in women’s empowerment and support their leadership development hasn’t.

Thank you for your support of Greater Missouri. I wish you good health and spirit!