Letter From The President

Over the last seven years, Social Media Club has been a huge part of life for me and my husband, Chris Heuer. We set out to help a handful of people explore their personal and professional passions around the emerging world of social media, and with the help of a few airline flights and a lot of word of mouth, we have grown into a organization connecting 300 local Chapters and over 500,000 people around the world.
Much has happened in the industry, society and the organizational development since we launched, and we are humbled and proud to have had the wonderful opportunity to work with you to build an organization responsible for the development of so many of today’s social media leaders! 

Social Media Club has always been our labor of love, but the 40+ hours a week needed from us to manage the global organization is just not sustainable as we also try to manage our full-time careers and family life. It is time for a change. 

Chris and I have recently taken two new, very big and exciting roles; me as Director of Global Social Media and Customer Engagement at Ancestry.com, and Chris as Founder of AdHocnium (and a soon-to-be announced new startup), so we have decided to step away from the day-to-day operation of this organization, release our seats on the Board of Directors, and move into an advisory role in Social Media Club. It is time to pass the reins, the torch and the future of this organization to a new team lead in the interim, by Golden Ashby, with strong support by the global board comprised of:  

 
During the last year, we worked closely with this board to streamline many of our processes, from chapter development to membership, creating the framework needed to grow a global organization and continue to provide our members a first class educational experience.  

This team will also be working closely with our global membership to design and implement a wide range of social media educational programming over the coming year. We want to serve a maturing industry while ensuring those new to the space have great learning opportunities as well. While our original mission https://socialmediaclub.org/about-us for Social Media Club has never changed, we will from time to time modify the organizational structure to ensure we are able to serve all our members needs. However, we cannot do this alone. 

The existing Social Media Club board is looking for an Executive Director (ED), an Organizational Secretary and a Treasurer. Our interim ED, Golden Ashby, will be posting more on these roles this week and we encourage you to submit a nomination – either for yourself or for someone else. The Board of Directors is also looking for additional committee members for our membership, communications and editorial teams so keep watch for news on that shortly. 

I am personally grateful for the connections I have made through Social Media Club, including some friendships that are sure to last a lifetime. The organization has not only been an amazing source of learning for our members, but for me as well, and I will cherish the time I have been a part of the leadership team. Social Media Club has accomplished much, but there is still much more to be done, so please give your support to Golden and the Board of Directors as they continue to build on our original mission and drive the organization forward. 

Cheers,

Kristie Wells