We had a very informative and productive CAPS Leadership Summit on September 15, 16 & 17th in Toronto. This is an annual event for your chapter president and incoming president to meet with your CAPS National Board. We spent three action packed days talking about the past, present and future of CAPS. We had fun, we thanked our leadership teams for their commitment to CAPS and we did a lot of work.

The weekend was led by Michael Kerr CSP HoF and Dianne McCoy. They created an agenda that included thought provoking exercises about CAPS and the value our members derive from their membership. We also had updates from each National Board member to ensure the chapters are aware of the initiatives and progress in each portfolio.

Your 2018 CAPS national president Steve Lowell provided an update on what has been accomplished to date and paid special tribute to the members of the national board whose terms are finished this year. Michelle Ray CSP was recognized for her work on our membership campaign and Mary Charleston CSP was congratulated for developing more outward facing marketing for CAPS and a great welcome package for new members. Jeanne Martinson was also congratulated for receiving her 20 year pin. A special thank you was saved for Suzanne Stevens CSP, your CAPS national past president, who has accomplished so much and contributed so often to the organization.

Each participant had the opportunity to hear updates from our 20/20 task force on their research into associations and how they see the future unfolding. We discussed different models for associations that are now realistic given the technology some chapters are using already. Geography is not the only defining element for membership in a national association when it is relatively inexpensive and easy to communicate with your peers in any province or city. This led us into discussions about where CAPS members see value and some of the things they would like to change about their membership. This is a journey and we must keep moving forward to ensure CAPS is relevant to our membership and prospective members we know are out there.

A big thank you to Michael and Dianne for all of their work to plan and execute the event. Also a big thank you to everyone in attendance for contributing to informative and enlightening discussions about the past, present and future of CAPS.