BACK TO SCHOOL

By September, the first days of school have happened and the college Fall semesters have begun as well. It’s a fun and exciting time of year for students, parents, and educators. It is a wonderful opportunity to start fresh with renewed enthusiasm about the school year. Even with the Delta variant taking us through another stage of Covid, we march on as best we can. Learning doesn’t stop because we are in a pandemic.

Fall is the time of year when SAHRMA also provides an annual learning opportunity for members and the HR community. 2021 marks the 15th year of SAHRMA’s Annual Employment Law Conference. Year after year, the ELC provides a jam-packed day of the most up-to-date legal and legislative information. We are fortunate to have the most sought-after legal minds around that sign-on to participate in our Employment Law Conference. Some attorneys have been regular ELC presenters for several years and we have come to eagerly anticipate their latest and greatest session topics.

I remember first attending the ELC many years ago as an emerging HR professional. I wanted to learn as much as I could about employment law in order to give the best guidance possible, being a trusted reference for legal compliance. I remember it being a bit overwhelming. I knew that I would have to keep coming back to ELC every year for the everchanging content, in order to stay on top of the latest developments that impacted the organization I served.

Another thing I remember about my early attendance at ELC was that just about everyone was dressed in business attire. There were a lot of black suits, not only worn by the presenting attorneys, but also by the conference attendees. This year, I thought to myself, wow how things have changed! This year attendees had the opportunity to attend in their pjs!

One good thing that has come out of our adaptation to Covid precautions is we were able to offer the first ever hybrid ELC. Attendees that were comfortable being in-person were provided a traditional onsite conference experience. Attendees that were more comfortable attending virtually, or for convenience purposes, had the ability to login via Zoom instead.

As the SAHRMA President, I was so proud of how this year’s ELC all came together. Big time Kudos goes to Tiffany Cox Stacy for stepping up to assume the role as Government Affairs Director earlier this year and then single handedly coordinating the ELC speakers and creating the ELC agenda. For months, so much work went on behind the scenes. Other board members assisted with certification, sponsorship, registration, fundraising, marketing and then finally execution and production of the program on conference day. There’s just one word for it…TEAMWORK!

The SAHRMA team works all year long to provide programs, networking opportunities, and fun experiences for members and potential members to enjoy and learn from. The SAHRMA Board of Directors volunteer their time for your benefit and we hope to see you at our next meeting or event! Go ahead and RSVP today for your next SAHRMA activity and thank you for your membership! San Antonio Human Resource Management Association - Events Calendar (sahrma.org) 

Dawn Cunningham, PHR, SHRM-CP

SAHRMA President

LEARN | CONNECT | SERVE