ASSOCIATION NEWS
FROM YOUR president
WINTER 2023
a seat at the table
It is my absolute pleasure to write my first “Letter from the President” for ISNA’s Food For Thought! When tasked with coming up for a theme for this year I was trying to figure out how to incorporate a positive look back at what we have come through (surviving the pandemic), but also keep a keen focus on our future. That’s when inspiration struck – A Seat at the Table . No department worked harder or put themselves at more risk in order to continue to support students, than child nutrition professionals. If your district was like mine, we notified families on Friday, March 13 th
that schools would be closed for 2 weeks (ha!). We were serving curbside meals the following Monday, March 16 th , and we never looked back. We were given the spotlight and appreciation (100% of it deserved) for what we risked in order to keep our community youth nourished. Now when districts are making decisions that will in any way impact child nutrition departments, we all have earned a seat at that table – the table where decisions are being made and voices are being heard! I’m still (even 2 months later) coming off the high of our November ISNA Annual Conference that was held in Indianapolis. I find myself, almost daily, looking for the good in everything and being grateful for every day just like Clint Swindall told us. Clint’s Friday keynote address, given to a packed room of school nutrition professionals, was a powerful one that really struck a chord with me. When I’m feeling stuck in the fog (like I did during that always funky time between Thanksgiving break ending and Winter Break starting) - all I need to do is remember the awesome scene of Porche, Mary Ellen, and Dana breaking their boards up on stage with our Wednesday keynote speaker Lindsey Vertner – and I remember our power and purpose in the work each and every one of us does on a daily basis. We all possess so much strength that there isn’t anything we can’t do . Behind the scenes here at ISNA there has been LOTS of big changes. We have a new Executive Director Team led by Cory Martin and his team at Mission Control (flip forward a few pages to meet Cory and the team!) that will help fill the big shoes of Sheri Shipp who mooooooved on to a position with American Dairy Association Indiana. We have changed term dates for elected and appointed Executive Board positions from serving Annual Conference Date to the following Annual Conference Date to now serving from July 1 st to June 30 th . We are evaluating what technologies we use to make sure we are meeting the needs of our entire membership. All these changes will mean a better and strong ISNA that exists to support YOU – our membership! I hope to see as many of you as possible in Bloomington June 15 th &16 th for our 3 rd annual ISNA School Nutrition Industry Summit. Mark your calendars now, and I’ll see you there! Sincerely,
ISNA President, 2022-2023 Christine Clarahan
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