By Eli Natinsky
IABCLA, Vice President/President-Elect
Happy New Year!
We want to express our appreciation to everyone who contributed to IABCLA in 2019 and reflect on our accomplishments during the past 12 months.
The final event of the decade was a Holiday Mixer on December 10 in the Arts District in Downtown LA. Guests enjoyed drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and lively conversation.
The mixer was just one of many functions — there were also five Coffee Connections, two professional development happenings, a Dine & Discuss, and a second mixer in the spring. A range of vital communications topics were covered, including “Navigating the Comms Job Market in LA,” “External Communications in the Digital Age,” and “Creating a Social Media Strategy for Your Career.”
It was a big year for chapter comms, as well. We redesigned our website (iabcla.com), began distributing a newsletter, set up an Instagram account, and started a member profile that’s distributed across our various platforms (website, newsletter, social media).
We’re also building ties to the next generation of communicators — two networking events were held between our chapter and the IABC group at USC, and our board added the position of director of student involvement.
In other board news, we welcomed two new people to our team — Vinisha Kothari and Rachel Mann. We’re looking for more dynamic folks to join our leadership group, so please contact IABCLA President Jenny Matkovich — president@iabcla.com — if you’re interested.
On the IABC national and international front, three board members attended the organization’s annual Leadership Institute. And, we hosted a certification orientation for those who’d like to earn the association’s Communication Management Professional (CMP) and Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP) designations.
Be sure to follow us on social media for the latest news and information in 2020: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, I
We thank you again, and we wish you a successful New Year!