Dear IANAGH family,

First of all, I would like to thank our Almighty God, EB and GB for giving me this opportunity to serve as the 15th president of IANAGH. It is with great anticipation, as your newly elected president, that I am looking forward to the year 2022. Many changes have occurred at our organization during this past year, and I am looking forward to continuing with positive changes in the preservation efforts of IANAGH. This requires a tremendous amount of work, and your participation and support is most welcome.

As I enter as a new President of the IANAGH, I notice that our Chapter, has never been more relevant and important in the Greater Houston area, across the nation, and around the world during the year of 2021 despite the growing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m proud of our Chapter’s successes over the last year, particularly in providing more opportunities for meaningful engagement of our members and sponsors, and providing professional development and outreach opportunities. In the year ahead, we will continue these initiatives, as well as adding some more initiatives that are designed to attract the new generation of nurses, such as adding more social events, virtual programs, and events held in collaboration with other chapters and organizations with a variety of different communities and beyond.

I’ve come to think of the IANAGH family as one very large, multi-talented, best chapter in the nation. A team that provides abundant opportunities to learn, teach, mentor, and share top quality work as a team. A team that enables us to advocate, meet, network, and give back to our communities, and all over the world. Our terrific EB and GB members, including all our sponsors, are a network on which I have become increasingly reliant on when facing new challenges and opportunities. Thank you, members, for your continued participation and enthusiasm in our professional community, and to our sponsors for your incredible help and support. In addition to that, I would like to thank our wonderful advisory board members for their tireless work on behalf of the NAINA, and IANAGH for all the resources, guidance and support they provide each and every day. Finally, I’d like to give a special shout-out of appreciation to our previous Chapter President Dr. Anumol Thomas for her incredible leadership last year.

Let me conclude this with a famous quote by Mother Theresa. “I can do things that you cannot, you can do things that I cannot but, together we can do great things”. So, let’s work together as a great team to achieve great things this year! Let us be the spark that sets others on fire. Yes, we can do this together. May God bless all of us abundantly in 2022.  Wishing a good and successful 2022, and looking forward to working with you all again this year. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Elsy John, DNP, RN-BC