Happy holidays! As the weather seems to be rapidly changing everyone is busy with normal schedules only compounded by the stress we put on ourselves during this season. I hope you, your families and your represented businesses all have a healthy and terrific holiday season.
For me, I really look forward to this time of the year. I do my best to slow down, spend some time reflecting on the year and making plans or goals for the next year. We do end-of-year performance appraisals with our team members and really challenge each other to learn new skills, develop personal strengths and the like. I know we are not alone in this approach; maybe your company has similar programs.
Let me suggest AWCI as a terrific resource for education to develop these types of skills. We have education sessions that can meet a variety of needs in multiple formats. If you have a specific want or desire that you don’t see in our current portfolio, reach out to us. We would love to hear from you and maybe help provide an avenue that works for you and your team.
People ask what drives me in this industry, and it is simple: the people. I love hiring new recruits and watching them grow personally and professionally. I see these young men and women becoming more self-assured, making big decisions and having success. I see them grow personally, often getting married and then having families of their own.
I recently recorded a social media message highlighting exciting things happening here at AWCI. I won’t go into all the details, but suffice to say the team is busy and preparing for our 2022 convention in Grapevine, Texas. Yes, I do believe we will finally have a convention. Details are being finalized, and I will provide more information about our format in the next President’s Message. I am looking forward to some traditional items seen in the past mixed with new education and general sessions to bring us together. It will be a great time, so please plan to join us.
Again, all the best in the new year.
Shawn Burnum is the 2021–2022 president of the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry and vice president of operations at Performance Contracting, Inc. in Lenexa, Kan.
