Hey, COR community!
I truly can’t believe that I’m writing this as your new COR board chair. I would be remiss not to tout how much COR has grown over the past few years. We expanded the COR board to include more board members, and include people of more diverse backgrounds and industries. We reignited relationships with city and county leadership and created new funding sources through strategic partnerships and grant awards. We rebranded and refreshed our mission and vision statements. We created an entirely new action team, focused on developing two talent retention programs (Capture Columbia and Crash Course Columbia). We expanded our membership events to include niche interests, explored new volunteer opportunities and revamped our signature annual event, Time To Give.
None of this would have been possible without the leadership of past chairs and fellow board members. Every single person on the COR board is passionate about moving the Columbia region forward and it shows with the amount of time and energy that each person puts into COR’s efforts. I would like to give a special shout out to Ashley Elsey (immediate past chair) and Chase Heatherly (chair FY 20-21). They have played a large role in the vision and execution of COR’s movement forward. Ashley & Chase, your encouragement to take on this position is appreciated more than you know!
With the development of new funding sources, strategic partnerships and an expanded board of directors, COR is at a real turning point. So, what’s up next for COR?
Our annual board retreat is just a few weeks away. In this retreat we’ll be setting event dates for Activates, COR Connections, Table for Six, Time to Give and talent retention initiatives. We will also be exploring new ideas like member interest groups, heightened member perks, new volunteer opportunities and increased talent retention programming. Interested in getting involved? Join an action team! Joining an action team is the first step toward getting more connected to COR and the Columbia community, with the possibility of joining the board in the future.
If you’re interested in learning more about COR, joining an action team, or just don’t know where to start to get connected in Columbia, please don’t hesitate to reach out to myself ([email protected]) or one of our board members. From coffee to happy hour, we want to help you find your place here.
Cheers!
Kelsey Carmichael Bickley
COR Board Chair 2022-2023
