Thoughts from Zachary Garrett,
VP-Communications, Goldberg Kohn Ltd.

Realizing the Benefits of Your TMA
Membership

One of my primary goals in serving as Vice President of Communications has been to communicate and emphasize the benefits of being a member of the TMA's Chicago/Midwest Chapter. Over the last two years I have also sought to highlight the opportunities our chapter provides to have fun while building valuable professional relationships, networks, and skills. Serving as an officer of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter has given me an opportunity to help shape and implement many of the programs, events, and resources that make our organization such a valuable part of the turnaround community. In this final newsletter of 2015, I hope to recap some of the benefits that our chapter provides to its diverse and growing membership.

Building Relationships

Our chapter offers a variety of venues and opportunities throughout the year to build and maintain client relationships. Whether it's by networking at a social event, participating in a breakfast forum, or serving as a panelist in an educational workshop, our chapter offers may outlets for members to promote themselves and their firms and connect with others. This is particularly important for our chapter's younger members seeking to build meaningful relationships early in their careers. Our NextGen program has helped connect young professionals across a variety of turnaround industries and practice areas. In addition, our chapter offers its members a number of advertising and marketing options to promote their brands. Such options include advertising at events, becoming a sponsor, and publishing an article in this newsletter.

Staying Connected

Staying connected with colleagues, clients, and friends can be difficult with so many obligations competing for our time. Our chapter works hard to keep its members personally and professionally connected to one another by offering a variety of networking and educational programs throughout the year. These programs are designed with you and your professional development in mind. Indeed, we tailor our programs so that our members may realize the greatest value at the lowest cost. Whether it's a breakfast forum, lunch forum, networking event, or educational workshop, all you need to do is attend, participate, and connect. You may find a current list of chapter events on page four of this newsletter and on the chapter website.

VP's Corner

Thoughts from Zachary Garrett, VP-Communications

We realize that, in addition to client development and relationship building, our members seek programs and resources to aid in their professional development as turnaround professionals. Our chapter offers its members many valuable educational, leadership, and development opportunities designed to help them become leaders and experts in their fields. Such opportunities are targeted at the veteran practitioner, the newly-initiated, and every professional in between, and include educational workshops, training programs, seminars, and various speaker forums. In addition, our chapter is always on the lookout for leaders to join one of our many committees as a volunteer or co-chair. We encourage our members to explore the chapter's website for upcoming events and opportunities to learn, develop, and get involved.

Growing Membership

Among our chapter's greatest strengths is the diversity of our membership. We recognize that the future of our organization resides in our younger professionals whose energy and enthusiasm infuses our chapter with vitality, creativity, and fresh perspectives. We have thus worked hard to foster and grow our chapter's NextGen program, which makes it easy and affordable for our young members to build lasting networks, develop professionally, and lead and grow our organization. We encourage our younger members to join the NextGen program and get involved–there's no better way to maximize your TMA membership.

As I have previously noted, the tie that binds all of these themes together is the opportunity to have fun while building your personal and professional networks. One of our primary goals is to make professional development enjoyable and rewarding. As volunteers and fellow practitioners, your chapter's leadership understands the professional, social, and family obligations that compete for your time and energy. It is our mission to deliver these opportunities to you in a comprehensive, accessible, and affordable manner. We seek to do this in a way that that fits your schedule, goals, and interests. Through a dynamic mix of social and educational programs, we make professional development easy–all you need to do is show up, participate, and get involved.