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June President's Message

May 31, 2022 3:15 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Greetings TEMPO Madison Members and Happy June!

I can hardly believe that this is my last president’s message. Where did this year go?  When I joined the TEMPO Madison Board six years ago as a Director-at-Large focused on the Scholarship Program, little did I know that I’d eventually be graced with the enormous honor of leading this wonderful organization.  It has truly been an enriching experience and I have enjoyed meeting and engaging with many of our members.  Next month, we will be welcoming in our new leadership team and recognizing our collective commitment to keeping TEMPO Madison strong by renewing our membership. 

How can I best summarize this past year? From my vantage point, our year was one of continued transition with optimism for our future.  Last summer, we were still meeting virtually and hosting just a few, small outdoor networking events.  Then in the fall we started offering hybrid luncheons and other events and are now offering even more in-person events as we’ve come to learn how to adjust to life with COVID. Today, you can feel the energy at our events.  Our members are genuinely excited to reconnect in person.  It seems like we are back to a pre-pandemic noise level at our monthly luncheons.  Lately, I’ve had to ring the bell to corral everyone to be seated and start the meetings! 

We kicked off our 40th Anniversary year in October with an event that celebrated our past, showcasing four TEMPO Madison past presidents from each decade, while setting the stage for our future; raising about $5,300 for our Foundation’s scholarship fund to benefit female graduating high school students.  We were inspired that evening as we listened to the personal journeys our past presidents lived through to get to where they are today. We will be incorporating the theme, “There’s No Place Like TEMPO Madison” to celebrate the closing of our 40th year this October 8th at our gala. We’ll be looking back at where we started and just how far we’ve come with a video, currently in production, which will capture the interviews of TEMPO Madison members speaking about what makes TEMPO Madison special to them. For me, TEMPO Madison has always been about the strong bonds formed among us, like a sisterhood of diverse professional women coming together in a place where they know they will be accepted and recognized for who they are.         

I hope to see many of you at our June 14th annual meeting.  It’s the first time we are holding this meeting in person in three years.  The Board, committees and other group representatives are excited to host stations during our extended networking time so you can learn about the many opportunities you have to engage with TEMPO Madison members.  Our newest initiatives, the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee, Project REACH, Kiva Lending and Mentoring committees cannot wait to visit with you, answer questions and see if there’s an interest in joining their committees.  The more viewpoints, expertise and experience we can bring to these initiatives the stronger they will become!

At the meeting, we will also highlight this year’s scholarship recipients.  Take a minute to say hello to them in person!  Once again, we have found an admirable group of promising young scholars.  We’ll conduct our organization’s business, approving bylaws changes and passing the gavel to incoming president Michelle Vetterkind.  Our group is in for a great year as I know her to be a leader whose enthusiasm for all things TEMPO Madison has no bounds. Be sure to stay to the end of the program for the big announcement of our 40th keynote speaker! 

Thank you again for allowing me to serve as your TEMPO Madison President.  With your kindness, support, and inspiration it has been an extremely rewarding experience. 

With gratitude,

Elaine Rich

President, TEMPO Madison 2021-2022


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