I was introduced to CAPPA by my first boss in higher education, Past President David Millay. I’d been active in other industry groups such as ASHRAE, USGBC and AL4E and I knew the value the relationships you build are and was excited to learn more and get involved.
As luck would have it, my chance arrived sooner than expected. In the past, CAPPA tied the presidential path to being an annual conference host. One of my co-workers had started on that path as 3rd VP and decided it wasn’t for him, so Dave Millay asked if I was interested in taking the role, and I jumped at the opportunity.
I arrived at my first CAPPA conference in El Paso, TX as the incoming 2nd VP, joined Board and committee meetings and started getting to know folks. Look through the list of Past Presidents, Board Members, and Award Winners and you’ll find the folks that welcomed me into CAPPA, encouraged me to take on challenges and remain friends and trusted mentors and colleagues.
A couple examples of CAPPA’s value have occurred since I joined University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). 1st was the willingness of folks to schedule and pull off a Supervisor Toolkit on our campus in about 6 weeks. The 2nd was after we had a steam fitting rupture and was interrupting outpatient care for some of our clinics. I called my steam guru, Ben Boslaugh, to see if he had ideas after we found repair parts were 3+ weeks out. Ben not only had ideas, but he also had 2 fittings that could work and happily sent them our way, getting us back up and running in a couple days.
So, my advice, and request, is that you give CAPPA a chance by coming to events, meet new people, and don’t hesitate to get involved. Making that commitment will be one of the best decisions of your professional career. It has certainly been an incredible experience for me.