Emerging together – Dr. Harry Schmidt

May 20

m6rT4MYFQ7CT8j9m2AEC_JakeGivens+-+Sunset+in+the+Park.jpg

“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over,
it became a butterfly…”
-Proverb

That little quip caught my eye recently when I was walking through a nearly deserted major national airport. I spotted it in the only snack/gift shop that was open. This message, printed on the face of a greeting card, caused me to reflect.

Spending time in a cocoon (or “sheltering in place”) always seems confining, limiting, unnatural and uncomfortable. The recent historic global medical crisis has upended all of us and many of our routines. It has generated a tenuous sense of being.

Allow me to share a parallel biblical narrative. At one time, David, the beloved historic king of Israel, had to sequester himself. He and a group of other local discouraged citizens hid briefly in a cave out of safety concerns. Cave time. Who likes cave time? The story concludes with David emerging from the cave with a stronger, more well-developed community of people. David later authored many of the Psalms cherished by society yet today.

True, our entire RCMA community of faith-based planners and hospitality partners has been affected with an unheard-of environment of disruption. But understand this, our collective movement will emerge and move out and away from this recent challenge and come into view of a new tomorrow.

Throughout my tenure of organizational leadership, I have noted that:

Fresh vision is birthed in times of darkness.
Creativity surfaces in the crucible of crisis.
Disruption generates adaption.
Relationships provide the soil of renewal.

Remember, meetings do matter. Meetings require participation. We are created to be people of engagement and interaction. Being together is vital. The platform for future gatherings will continue to encompass the traditional physical approach. Increasingly, broad and widely diverse forms of digital application for meeting, delivering information, and connecting are being explored, embraced and utilized. This will increase our ceiling and capacity to expand the effectiveness of our meetings.

In 2012, RCMA, with intentionality, began to pivot toward new approaches in bringing freshness to our association community. Among the changes made was the adoption of a hybrid model for our annual conference and trade show. We were certain the past was prelude to our future that we renamed the annual event EMERGE. Now, our entire RCMA community has begun to emerge from an epic global crisis looking forward to our future potential. In every obstacle there is the element for new opportunity. Let’s embrace our opportunities as one and see what we can become.

The entire RCMA staff remains poised to assist planners and hospitality partners alike as we venture together in crafting our mutual new moments. You will find helpful articles in this issue of Aspire that provide examples of cooperative efforts navigating through these strategic times. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us for resource support. We also want to hear your stories, experiences, and aspirations. Mark your calendars to join us at EMERGE 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina, January 5, 6 and 7.