ASRA News
A Message From the Chair: Sarah Reynolds
Hello everyone, I hope you are all having a fab April and that the sun is starting to shine wherever you are!
It has been a little over a month since we were all together in Wyboston Lakes in what was truly a fabulous conference. The venue was such a wonderful space that allowed us the time to all get together and reconnect in person, which after what feels like a lifetime of seeing each other on screen felt like a real treat.
There were over 300 members and over 35 exhibitors who made their way to the rural countryside of Bedfordshire, for three days of fun and interaction and I would like the opportunity to thank all of our existing & new exhibitors, sponsors and members for the support they give ASRA. We saw a number of new suppliers and again it was so good seeing some new and old familiar faces.
Embracing change
The theme of the Conference 2022 was embracing change, something that we have all had to do over the last few years, and as I drove back to London (with a slightly sore head!!) it was really good to reflect on the past year, and also look forward to the exciting times in the year ahead.
We had the pleasure of having some brilliant keynote speakers at this year’s conference, with Paul McGee, AKA the SUMO guy, showing us that “Shut Up, Move On” (Stop, Understand & Move On) can help us to get the best out of ourselves, of others, and of life. I know I have been regularly asking myself where is this issue on a scale of 1-10!!!???
We had the privilege of hearing from the charming Billy Dixon who taught us that Behaviour Changes Attitude with his engaging session on stripping it back – Resilience, showing us the importance of looking after our own physical and mental wellbeing.
The feedback has been super positive from both members and exhibitors, and I want to thank all of you for making the conference what it is and really getting involved & participating. Seeing so many happy faces really does show that all of the hard work has paid off.
Putting on a conference of this size really does take a lot of planning through the year and would not be possible without the amazing help & support of Jennie and her team at Sovereign Conference, so a massive thank you from all of the ASRA members for everything that you do for us.
In addition, I would like to say a massive thank you to all of the ASRA Committee, all of you do this alongside your day jobs, which I know keeps us all very busy, but really without the work that you do it would not be the member led association that we are today.
Finally, I would like to take the opportunity to say a massive thank you to Karen and the amazing work that she has done for ASRA over the years. Karen has been a brilliant Chair who has been a role model for so many of us, and her words of wisdom will always stay with me!!! Karen you really do have big shoes to fill, so I hope I do you proud and can do half as good a job as you have done!
Sarah Reynolds ASRA ChairAs we look forward to the year ahead, I am very excited to be taking on the role of Chair. I am looking forward to working with the ARSA Committee to drive some positive change and look at new ways that we can continue to grow.
Welcome to all of the new ASRA Regional Reps, I know that you are all going to be doing a fab job. I won’t steal your thunder, so please stay tuned on the website for the Membership Spotlight Series where you can find out more about them!!!
Please continue to use JiscMail so that we can continue to share best practice, and I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Thanks,
Sarah
Joining ASRA
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