Greetings from FY19 Austin HIMSS President: Elsie Gori

We’ve had an amazing FY18! I want to thank our FY18 board for their hard work and commitment. Our chapter grew ~20% over last year with 800+ members today! The Austin Chapter of HIMSS can be proud of our successes in growth, education, and community. Most of last year’s board continued their commitment to the chapter, some taking on new roles to serve you, our members. Two of our board members will now be in the audience with you as they have moved on to help organize the next Texas HIMSS Regional Conference. Doug Burkott served as our leader for almost two years and past-president last year; Shannon Vogel has been a pillar in our chapter for 10 years serving in several roles from president to sponsor chair. Both will be missed on the board, but still serving the membership in their work on the upcoming conference.

This coming year promises to be an amazing year for Austin HIMSS! There are so many great things going on for our members:

• First, we kick it off on July 26^th with our summer networking social at The Brass Tap-Domain. RSVP here.
• Look for membership drive events in September as well.
• Don’t forget National HIT Week October 8-12, look for some supporting activities!
• Advocacy ramps into high gear for Texas HIT Day in January, more to come.
• And we are excited to be the host city for the Texas HIMSS Regional Conference in the spring!

Be sure to keep an eye out for details, dates, volunteer calls, and invites!

We will continue to grow our networking / social opportunities for our chapter and maintain our momentum from the past year in building relationships with our community. You can look forward to networking pop-ups that will cater to smaller themed groups, opportunities to take HIMSS to students & programs in the Austin chapter area, and collaborations with other organizations to add more value to your membership.

To accomplish our objectives, the Austin HIMSS Board recognizes that membership is important for the change, improvement, and overall growth as a chapter. We are constantly looking for people interested in volunteering their time, skills, experience and ideas to support chapter operations. The board is always available to discuss ways to get further involved, regardless of experience level. Don’t hesitate to contact any of us individually or collectively at austin.board@himsschapter.org.

If you are not a member, please join us as we continue to grow our impact on the Austin Health Information and Technology landscape! Click here to JOIN the chapter.

As your Chapter President, I will focus my efforts on working with my fellow chapter board members, committees and volunteers, and HIMSS leaders nationwide to deliver greater value to our members and sponsors.

Thank you for continuing to support the Austin Chapter and I look forward to working together.

On behalf of the 2018-2019 Board of Directors,

Elsie Gori

President, Austin HIMSS