GREETINGS TO ALL NEBRASKA NURSES!
On October 3 and 4, our annual convention was held in Kearney at the beautiful Younes-North Conference Center. I will share some of the highlights here.
- Approximately 150 nurses registered to attend. I was able to meet some of the nurses that I talked to during our new member phone calls.
- There were 12 presentations (including key notes and break-out sessions), poster presentations, and time for networking with nurses from across the state. We had many exhibitors for the attendees to visit.
- Our membership meeting was well attended. We heard from some of the candidates and discussed several bylaw amendments that will be voted on over the next few weeks.
- The Awards dinner highlighted our scholarship winners, award winners and two inductees into the Nebraska Nurses Hall of Fame. Pictures and names are in this publication. Of special note, our lobbyist of many years, Don Wesley, was honored with the President’s Award for a Friend of the NNA.
- The 40 under 40 Award breakfast was attended by most of the awardees and their families.
- The NNA PAC held a fundraiser on Tuesday, October 2nd at Cunningham on the Lake. A delicious dinner was served and we heard from two of the candidates that we supported. The Wine Pull continued to the next night at convention. The PAC raised about $3000! Thank you to all who supported this event.
- The Nebraska Nurses Foundation was very successful in their campaign to take advantage of a matching offer from an anonymous donor. They reached a total of over $6000! Nurses are so generous!
- For our last keynote on Friday morning, we were honored to have our American Nurses Association President, Dr. Jennifer Mensik-Kennedy, share her thoughts on nurse-led innovations. We were so honored to have her join us all the way from Oregon. Our Executive Director, Kim Houtwed, picked out the perfect gift—a Nebraska Cornhuskers sweatshirt. See picture below. Jennifer did tell me she would have to change back into an Oregon Ducks shirt before she got off the plane at home.
I learned so many new things from our nursing colleagues who shared with their presentations. I loved talking to nurses from across the state. Overall, a wonderful convention!
NNA BOARD MEETING
Our next board meeting is scheduled for November 18th. We will review the proposed budget for next year as well as get final financial reports for September and October. Please contact me or one of the board members if you have a topic that the board needs to discuss. nnapresident@nebraskanurses.org
