Thankful Thursday…and Friday

I hope you all are looking forward to feasting with family and friends today. When asking other HIMSS employees what they were thankful for this fall, I received many responses about great colleagues and volunteers.

Joyce Lofstrom, MS, APR, Director of Corporate Communications, said, “I am thankful for the people I work with at HIMSS – on our staff and our volunteers.  I learn so much from them and hope the feeling is reciprocal.”

Others in the education department echoed Joyce’s sentiments. With an extraordinary amount of educational content to manage for HIMSS11, this staff leans on the expertise of knowledgeable volunteers. “I am grateful for Colin Brack, CPHIMS; who has volunteered his time to facilitate the upcoming CPHIMS review courses; virtually and in person at HIMSS11. Colin provides great insight and is a pleasure to work with!” wrote Megan McGuirk, a Program Manager in Education.

Megan was referring to a CPHIMS Review Course that will be offered on Sunday, Feb. 20. Participants take part in lecture, discussion and a practice test, and then receive newly updated study materials. The actual CPHIMS Exam will be offered twice on both Tuesday, Feb. 22 and Wednesday, Feb. 23. Clearly, there are plenty of opportunities to earn this career-enhancing credential at HIMSS11. (If you’re interested, you must pre-register for the exam through the HIMSS11 registration page by Friday, Feb. 4.)

With HIMSS employees’ workloads increasing due to the upcoming conference, people are feeling the crunch—but still maintaining their cool. Joel J. Tomas, IT Service Desk Analyst, wrote, “I am thankful to have such great colleagues who are patient with me when I’m working with them to overcome a problem. If anything, the patience helps me with my job 10-fold!”

LaVerne Palmer, Informatics Coordinator, said, “I have a lot to be thankful for at HIMSS – I have the best boss in the world, co-workers I consider friends, and volunteers I enjoy assisting to reach their goals and interacting with them personally. I enjoy the challenges of my job and ever-evolving environment at HIMSS. I can’t imagine working anywhere else.”

LaVerne’s close colleague, Yvonne Horton, another Informatics Coordinator, gave an enthusiastic “second!” to LaVerne’s comments: “I’m grateful for the continued support from my boss, VP and co-workers.  HIMSS is a great learning environment with ample opportunities for growth!  Jeans on Fridays, monthly birthday lunches, annual bonuses, great benefits package, why complain?  A million people would certainly love to trade places with me at this moment.  I’m thankful for a great job opportunity.  As with anything in life, you get out of it what you put in!” 

I, personally, am grateful for being able to market programs that have real value for our members and non-members. From promoting new webinars in the eLearning Academy to exciting events at HIMSS11…I’m lucky to be part of an organization that makes me appreciate what I do for a living.

Thank you to all our staff and volunteers for working hard to keep HIMSS activities running smoothly…and to you, dedicated blogger, for keeping up with us (even on Thanksgiving!) Here’s to the beginning of a great holiday season—cheers!