President's Blog

Hello!

A big THANK YOU to the Programs Co-Directors and Committee for our January speaker, Larry Young. What a great way to start the week learning how we can be a valued strategic partner by enhancing our influencing skills. We appreciate the grace as we experienced a couple of “hiccups” that day. As leaders in your organizations, you know, it wouldn’t be a Monday or a conference without ‘em!

On January 24^th, the SESHRM Board held their Annual Strategic Meeting to identify 2023 initiatives. Based on feedback from chapter members coupled with our vision for the year, we have committed to the following initiatives:

• SESHRM Membership Experience – We would like to enhance programing opportunities/content for our chapter members both, virtually and in-person. The Student Chapter is also an area of focus for the year as they are an invaluable group of upcoming HR professionals. We look forward to having more intentional meetings with the Student Chapter to help encourage development and involvement in SESHRM and the HR field.
• Membership Growth - This initiative will be centered around recruiting and retaining SESHRM members. We will continue to be proactive in providing relevant programming content and marketing the chapter by informing area businesses on the value of being a SESHRM member.
• Community Involvement – There are so many phenomenal resources and organizations, outside of SESHRM, that are working on HR related initiatives (IE, Pathways, Legislature, Sioux52, Child Care Collaborative, etc). Our goal is to partner with one or two of these organizations to learn their perspective and to become a trusted partner in these larger scale HR related issues.

See you soon,

Julia Disburg, SHRM-CP, PHR

Happy New Year! Hope you all had a warm and peaceful holiday season with family and friends! 

On January 16^th, we will be holding our January half-day session. Larry Young, owner of Boiling Frog Development, will lead us in developing actions plans and strategies to enhance our influencing skills. Be sure to register today!

The Board will be getting together to hold their annual Strategic Planning Session on January 24^th to determine the initiatives for this year. More to come in next month’s newsletter!

Thank you for the opportunity to lead such an impressive group of professionals.

Looking forward to another successful year,

Julia Disburg, SHRM-CP, PHR

SESHRM President

This year has certainly gone by quickly! It’s hard to believe it’s December and this is my final month of SESHRM Chapter President. Thank you so much for the opportunity to serve you all. I have gained so much from the experience – personal and professional growth, grew my network, and got outside of my comfort zone. I truly do recommend joining the board in some capacity to everyone.

Speaking of the board, we are getting ready to say our “Thank you for serving” to Mary Jo Vance (Past President), Kristina Meulebroeck (Treasurer), Ona Reker (Programs Co-Director), and Kassie Van Wyk (Student Chapter Director). They’ve all made large impacts on the chapter during their time. We sincerely appreciate all they have done!

We are also very excited to be welcoming our new board members in January! Monique Vanden Heuvel (President-Elect), Marisa Draper (Treasurer), Hannah Johnson (Programs Co-Director), and Alyssa Bainbridge (Student Chapter Director). In addition, Maggie Garry will continue her work as Legislative Director and Kerry Bamsey will continue to be our Workforce Readiness & Diversity Director.

I can’t wait to celebrate a wonderful year with you all on December 6^th! Thank you again for the opportunity to serve as your President!

Sarah

November is officially upon us, and we are so thankful for each and every one of you! The year is quickly coming to a close, but we still have lots of exciting things coming up. Please be sure to vote in our upcoming Board Elections. We have one last chapter meeting in November and then our Holiday Social in December. At the Holiday Social we will be announcing the winners of the HR Professional Awards and the Workplace Excellence Awards.

The December Holiday Social will be held on Tuesday, December 6^th from 3pm -6pm. We are seeking donations of baskets for our Charity Fundraiser and sponsors for the event. If you’re interested in either opportunity, reach out to Julia Disburg.

Thank you so much to everyone who helped us select the charity we will be raising funds for at our December Holiday Social. We are excited to announce that we will be raising funds for the Ronald McDonald House Charities – South Dakota!

Be on the lookout for additional exciting announcements about the Holiday Social coming soon!

Sarah

Hello Members!

Can you believe it’s October already? All things pumpkin, football, and Halloween are in full swing. October also means a kickoff to open enrollment, budget planning, and year-end processes for most of the members of our chapter. 

For SESHRM, October is bringing opportunities for you to recognize your fellow HR peers for the HR Professional of the Year awards. It’s also time to nominate your employers for a Workplace Excellence Award! We are also winding down to the last few days to reach out to Julia Disburg to place your name on the ballot for one of our board positions! Lastly, October kicks off our membership renewal season!  Be sure to renew your membership by 12/31/2022 to be able to attend the January Half Day Workshop for FREE!

Be sure to watch for more announcements coming soon for our upcoming Board Elections and our December Social Event! The December Social will be held on December 6^th from 3pm-5pm!

Sarah

Hello SESHRM Members!

While there may be mixed feelings out there, pumpkin spice is here, fall décor is popping up, football games have kicked off, and our mornings are starting out a bit cooler! With fall comes lots of exciting things for our chapter! Coming this fall, we will have Board Elections, membership renewals, nominations for Workplace Excellence of the Year and HR Professional of the Year Awards, our Student Chapter will begin meeting again, and USF will be hosting another SHRM Certification Prep Course!

We are so grateful for our members and the talents each and everyone of you have. Please consider getting involved where you have a passion. Watch out for exciting announcements regarding our HR Professional of the Year and Workplace Excellence Awards – then consider who you could nominate in the respective categories. Nominating takes a little thought, but not a lot of time and the value of that recognition pays dividends to that HR Professional or that employer.

If you have a passion for getting involved in the next generation of HR Professionals, reach out to Kassie Van Wyk and ask how you could give a presentation at a Student Chapter Meeting, provide an internship or job shadow opportunity for a student, or consider mentoring!

Lastly, please be sure to refer to the Sept 9^th email regarding the membership renewals for 2023. Renewals will open October 1^st. Our Membership Rates are increasing for the first time since 2013. We are looking forward to a busy fall within the chapter. Don’t forget in December we will come together to celebrate each other and another amazing year!

Sarah

Hello All!

August is here! Summer is winding down, kids are getting ready to go back to school, and cooler mornings are becoming more often. While very few are wishing summer away, fall is quickly approaching. That means lots of exciting things coming up for SESHRM!

We have some great programs coming up this fall with monthly sponsors as well.  Thank you to the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and WIN Summit teams in sponsoring our August meeting! If your company is interested in sponsorship opportunities, please reach out to me with questions.

This fall will also be our SESHRM Board Elections. We are looking for volunteers for our President-Elect, Programs Co-Chair Director, Legislative Director, Student Chapter Director, and Workforce/Diversity Director roles. If you are interested, please reach out to Julia Disburg!

Also, this fall, we will have our Workplace Excellence and HR Professional of the Year awards. We are planning to switch these up a bit this year, so watch for more information coming out soon!

Sarah

Happy July!

How is it that we are already over halfway through 2022 and stores are stocking school supplies already?! I hope everyone is getting opportunities for rest and relaxation this summer and remembering to take time for yourself. So many people depend on us both at work and at home, taking the time for self-care, rest, and relaxation is very important.

We are excited for two great events this month focused on hiring great talent! One of those events is the hands-on workshop on July 26^th. Spots were limited to maintain the ability to have that workshop approach. If you’re unable to attend, please notify us so those on the waitlist may be able to participate in your place. We hope that there will be great value found for all participants and that we will be able to offer more experiences like this in the future.

Soon you’ll start to see communications from the board on Workplace Excellence Awards, HR Professional of the year, and Board Elections. Please start thinking about nominating your company and who you want to recognize for HR Professional this year. These are amazing recognition opportunities. Joining the board is a phenomenal opportunity for development and networking. Please reach out to Julie Disburg with questions on board elections!        

Sarah

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and finding opportunities for self-care and relaxation! I’m excited to announce that SESHRM earned the 2021 Platinum Excel Award! This award recognizes accomplishments and strategic initiatives that elevate the HR profession, ultimately creating workplaces where employers and employees can thrive together!

Our Programs Co-Directors and Committee is putting the finishing touches on the programing for the remainder of 2022. Be prepared for some great speakers and topics! Thank you to everyone who provides us with the great content every month!

We’re especially excited about the hands-on workshop coming up in July to focus on the workforce shortage. The team leading that initiative has put a lot of hours into creating this experience for our members. We hope that there will be great value found for all participants and that we will be able to offer more experiences like this in the future.

Lastly, congratulations to the SoDak State SHRM for earning the 2021 Platinum Excel Award! This is the highest award bestowed upon a State Council by SHRM. This award recognizes outstanding achievements in Chapter/State Council operations and a commitment to providing meaningful programs and services to their members/HR professionals in our State. It also is recognition of their continued growth and development as a business leader, capable of developing strategies that lead to business success! 

Sarah

Happy May Everyone! 

I was fortunate to be able to attend the SD State SHRM Conference earlier this month and listen to SHRM CEO, Johnny C. Taylor Jr. open the conference! If you ever get the opportunity to hear him speak, take it! He was very engaging and entertaining. He gave all attendees an extra boost of motivation and renewed our passion for our profession. My favorite quote that he shared was, “HR”s job is to rid the world of poor employee experiences.” That one resonated well with me and I feel it is reflective of all HR professionals no matter your area of focus. I hope each one of our members know their value to the profession, to your teams, and to your employers. Be sure to take the time for your own professional development by attending our monthly chapter meetings, participating in the mentor program, or consider volunteering to serve on a SESHRM Committee or a Board Position.

Speaking of board members, we are excited to welcome Stephanie Keizer and Maggie Garry to the SESHRM Board! Stephanie is serving as our Conference Director and Maggie is our new Legislative Director. Thank you to Alex Clark for all he’s done with SESHRM over the last few years and most recently as our Legislative Director. We wish he and his family the best of luck in their new adventures in Minnesota!

Sarah