Summer is officially here and the living is easy… dare to dream! Seriously, we are looking forward to some much-needed R&R this summer (see AACN “Pause week” info) and hope you are, too. This month’s update is chock-full of news and reminders ― FY board transition, Nursing Network, new AACN theme, Certification Review series, HWE stories and more ― so we’ll get right to it. Happy 4th of July to all of you and a big welcome to our FY23 chapter officers and CATs!

Rooted in Strength,

Your AACN Chapter Community Partners

Looking Ahead

• July 1: New fiscal year begins
• Aug. 15: FY22 Quarter 4 Financial Report, Annual Audit and Check Signer Form are due.

Chapter Support

Need help with chapter reporting and/or the annual audit? Reach out to us at the home office – we love to help! Remember, it’s OK if your chapter isn’t meeting due to the pandemic, but the IRS still requires us to submit financial reports. For clarification, going on “pause” means no chapter or board meetings.

Starting the New Fiscal Year Right — First Steps

The new fiscal year starts July 1 and whether you are a new or returning chapter officer, thank you for your volunteerism and continued partnership!

Completing the following steps will help set up your incoming leadership teams for success. Remember that it’s fine for the current board to stay on another year or for your chapter to appoint leaders rather than holding elections this year.

1. If you haven't had a chance to learn about your new chapter website on Nursing Network, now is a good time. This handy startup guide provides an overview, instructions and FAQs. To access your new website, complete and submit this online form, and you will be contacted to tour your new website… which is ready and waiting for you!
2. Hold your chapter officer transition meeting to ensure the new board is acquainted with their roles. Also, all officers should complete the Chapter Board Contract.
3. Review your Chapter Charter Agreement. As a reminder, the current charter cycle has been extended through June 2023.
4. Review the Chapter Governance Manual for a better understanding of chapter best practices and reporting requirements.
5. Review your chapter’s strategic plan and update it as needed. Then share it with your chapter advisor so they know what you have planned and can better support you throughout the year.
6. Update your chapter database with your officers for the new fiscal year.
7. Read Chapters 101 to prepare for the year. It’s an excellent refresher for returning officers, too.

The Chapter Advisory Team and home office staff are ready to assist you in any way we can.

No More Double Database Entries!

It’s finally happening! For chapters on Nursing Network (NN), now you only need to keep your NN membership database current. What a relief! Updates made to the NN database are uploaded nightly to AACN’s primary system. This enhancement will make management of your chapter members so much easier.

Announcing Our New Chapter Advisory Team

Guided by our succession planning process, we recently conducted interviews for open chapter advisor positions and are pleased to share AACN’s FY23 Chapter Advisory Team (CAT) roster with you.

Stephanie Gregory, our current CAT senior co-lead, will continue sharing her tremendous leadership experience in that role. She can be reached at stephanie.gregory@aacn.org.

Sandy Waugaman, formerly the CAT for Region 5, has been selected as our second CAT co-lead for the next two years. Her email will change to sandy.waugaman@aacn.org as of July 1.

The following CATs will continue for another year:

• Deb Jackson, Region 1 (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
• Ryan Miller, Region 3 (DE, NJ, PA)
• Hind Jaber-Daou, Region 4 (DC, MD, VA, WV)
• Jean Humphreys, Region 6 (AL, GA)
• Audrey Glossenger, Region 9 (IN, OH)
• Gerri Kaye, Region 10 (IL)
• Melissa Kozakowski, Region 11 (KY, TN)
• Angela Jones-Wilson, Regions 12 & 14 (AR, KS, LA, MS, MO)
• Teresa Jahn, Regions 13 & 16 (IA, MN, NE, MT, ND, SD, WY)

New volunteers starting their CAT role on July 1 are:

• Peggy Kirk, Region 2 (NY)
• Melissa Teves, Region 5 (NC, SC)
• Bonnette Webb, Region 7 (FL)
• Sarah Zeller, Region 8 (MI, WI)
• Stephanie Ray, Region 15 (OK, TX)
• Tracy Thomas, Region 17 (AZ, CO, NV, NM, UT)
• Pam Konrath, Region 18 (AK, HI, ID, OR, WA)
• Edith Woltman,* Region 19 (CA)

*Edith was previously the Region 19 chapter advisor before serving a two-year term as CAT co-lead. She is returning as Region 19 chapter advisor for FY23. We sincerely thank her for her leadership, guidance and friendship during her co-lead term. We value all she has done and will continue to do for our AACN family.

President-elect Amanda Bettencourt has appointed Veronica Gurule as the FY23 CAT board liaison.

Learn more about the chapter advisor role and how best to use their support for your chapter. We are excited to have these volunteers on board as chapter advisors. They have chapter leadership experience and are great thought partners to talk through any situation.

Announcing the AACN FY2023 Theme

AACN President-elect Amanda Bettencourt unveiled our new theme at NTI: Starting Now. Please check the AACN website in early July for a link to Amanda’s presentation video and more details about this year’s theme and artwork — and be sure to share all with your chapter members.

Chapter Recognition

Congratulations to the following chapters celebrating milestone anniversaries (in five-year increments and every year from a chapter’s 45th year and beyond). This month we congratulate the following chapters:

• Greater St. Louis Chapter, MO — 50 years
• Dallas County Chapter, TX — 50 years
• Greater Memphis Area Chapter, TN — 49 years
• Greater Kansas City Chapter, MO — 49 years
• Greater Austin Area Chapter, TX — 49 years
• Tri-Valley Chapter, Fremont, CA — 48 years
• Northeast Tennessee Chapter, Elizabethton, TN — 47 years
• Central Missouri Chapter, Columbia, MO — 47 years
• Brevard Chapter, Cocoa, FL — 46 years

That’s a total of 435 years. Wow!!! We’re so thankful for all you do on behalf of AACN.

AACN “Pause” Week: July 4-8

Beginning July 4, the home office will observe a “pause” week as an opportunity for team members to reflect, refresh and return revitalized and ready to serve. (We really do strive to live the Healthy Work Environment Standards, including work-life balance!) If you or your colleagues have an urgent AACN-related need during that time, we will have a small crew in place to assist you.

Reminder: Adult CCRN/PCCN Certification Prep Series Begins July 19

As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, AACN is offering a virtual four-part certification review webinar series for nurses seeking Adult CCRN or PCCN certification. This interactive course runs from July 19-28 and includes the four live sessions plus access to on-demand session recordings and CE contact hours. This is a terrific opportunity to prepare for certification with national nursing experts.

Learn more and register >

Seeking AACN Healthy Work Environment Implementation Stories

How have you or your chapter members implemented AACN’s Healthy Work Environment (HWE) Standards? We want to know!

AACN will feature HWE implementation stories from our community in a new series of short videos, blogs and webinars. We aim to bring each of the six HWE standards to life and show our members and colleagues how easy it is to get started. If your hospital, unit or department has undertaken this transformative work and is willing to share their story, please contact us at healthy_work_envionments@aacn.org.

Please include the following information in your email, and a member of our Strategic Advocacy Team will reach out to you with the next steps.

• A brief description of your HWE work and the specific standard you’ve chosen to highlight
• The goal of your HWE efforts
• The process your team used to achieve your goals
• The overall impact of your HWE implementation

We look forward to sharing your great work with AACN’s community of exceptional nurses!

Reminder: NTI Sessions Available On-Demand Through Oct. 31

All NTI attendees, whether live or virtual, have on-demand access to recorded educational sessions and associated CE hours through Oct. 31. On-demand viewing of NTI is a great way to catch sessions that were missed or keep up with CE requirements. Please take advantage of the many offerings and encourage NTI attendees in your chapter to do so as well.

Access NTI recordings through your AACN dashboard >

The AACN home office and your chapter advisory team members (CATs) are available to serve you. Please contact us anytime you need additional information or support to help you or your chapter.

• For general inquiries – chapters@aacn.org
• Karen Certalic – karen.certalic@aacn.org
• Mitzi Inman – mitzi.inman@aacn.org
• Wayne Goebel – wayne.goebel@aacn.org

You can also find us online at the chapter portal under the Find a Chapter Advisor menu option. Thank you for your partnership, leadership, volunteerism and continued commitment to AACN. Together, we are Rooted in Strength!