Dear Colleagues,
It is with great honor to accept the gavel from Sarah Adams as your next President of the Connecticut Academy of PAs. Reflection is an essential way to express gratitude to those that have furthered our organization’s advancement and to take what we’ve learned and progress forward with diligence and enthusiasm for what lies ahead.
With that said, I would like to acknowledge the efforts and dedication of our former president over the last year. Sarah’s mission and efforts were embedded in the word ‘community’. She led ConnAPA’s inaugural Golf Outing charity fundraiser, donating proceeds to Connecticut’s Hole in the Wall Gang which provides free programs to children with serious illnesses. She encouraged PAs in our state to have a hand in their local communities, advocating for our patients at the very grassroots level. Our own board members took to the streets in the Closer to Free Ride, where all proceeds raised go to research and care at our local Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center. Sarah, thank you for your inspiration and wholehearted commitment to your PA colleagues, patients, and community. You have cultivated a true atmosphere of giving and compelled our organization to continue to improve the world around us.
During the year ahead, I would be grateful to focus our efforts on the word ‘unity’, tying into last year’s mission while weaving in additional sentiments. As anti-apartheid human right activist Desmond Tutu once said, “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” The definition of unity is to be joined, and its opposite is being divided. It is only if we are unified that we can make the biggest impact in the world around us. We shall celebrate our differences and not allow them to divide us. So let’s unite with our medical colleagues, our PA colleagues, our patients, and our communities.
To initiate and strengthen this resolve, ConnAPA has already commenced this year with the inaugural Northeast Regional PA Leadership Conference. Leaders from 9 neighboring state PA organizations, from Maine to Maryland, met in the heart of Connecticut to strengthen our relationships with each other and to exchange ideas on how to enhance our state organizations so we can better serve our patients and community. We focused on increasing membership to improve connections with all PAs in the state, among other ways to help our organizations thrive. I am humbled and grateful to be a part of such an incredible group of volunteer leaders from all of these state organizations.
As we endeavor to promote unity in the year ahead, we will be mindful of our surroundings and resolve to make a difference in our many relationships with colleagues and patients. We will cultivate a community of united people who are all different but with a shared purpose: to promote health and wellness for all.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with ideas, questions, and suggestions!
Best always,
Cayla
“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” Audre Lorde