Remember the anticipation you felt as a child for that holiday morning for which you waited all year? I know I am not unique in that one of my favorite memories is the anticipation of the holidays in my childhood home. And like most parents, it is just as special to relive those moments through our children. The anticipation of the holidays is so great because we spend all year looking forward to spending time with those special people with whom we are closest, valuing a reprieve from the monotony of everyday life, and delighting in all of the gifts, food, and merriment that come with the world celebrating in unison.

Why are we talking about that in July? I hope you share the anticipation I feel as the world reopens in a post-pandemic landscape, and it all just reminds me of that anticipation we all felt as children. Your local TMA chapter events are coming back slowly, but if you will pardon my ongoing winter analogy, we are seeing a snowball effect that is culminating in a blizzard of activity in the coming months at the chapter level.

Leading the way, not surprisingly, are golf outings from coast to coast, but I am pleased to report that in-person chapter events are slated to steadily increase in the coming weeks and months. And regional conferences are roaring back as well, including the Southeastern Regional Conference (August 11-13), the Northeast Regional Conference (September 1-2), the MidAmerica Regional Conference (September 20-21), and the Mid-Atlantic Networking Summit (September 23-24). Moreover, we can also look forward to the Great Lakes Conference (September 9-10) and TMA Florida’s Annual Conference (September 1-3).

These are all, of course, warmups for The TMA Annual in Nashville in October, which promises to be an absolute blowout. Forget that doll or that skateboard! All of these events are going to make your childhood memories pale in comparison!

Thankfully, there are still a number of ways to virtually connect through cross-chapter networking events and webinars being scheduled in the online space. As an organization, we have seen the power of virtual events in promoting member connectivity, and I can’t wait to see how we are able to continue to use those in the weeks, months, and even years ahead.

Thank you for all you are doing as TMA members to promote our industry and our organization. Now more than ever, it is important that each of us helps one another as we transition back to in-person connectivity and maintain the fundamentals that make TMA so great. I plan to attend as many of the foregoing in-person and virtual events as possible, and I hope to see each of you at many of them, especially The TMA Annual in Nashville.

Cutting and pasting from my first paragraph, what makes the holidays special is spending time with those special people with whom we are closest, valuing a reprieve from the monotony of everyday life, and delighting in all of the gifts, food, and merriment that comes with the world celebrating in unison. That accurately describes your next TMA event, doesn’t it?

When we meet next, if we all seem overjoyed by the holiday spirit in the middle of summer, I will know why. See you there!.