It is my honor to announce the 2023 recipient of the NPAworldwide Chairman’s Award is Bill Benson of WilliamCharles Search Group, Grand Rapids Michigan. Bill will receive the award at the upcoming NPA Global Conference in Atlanta.
The Chairman’s Award was established in 1996 to recognize a substantial and lasting endowment of volunteerism to the networkand is NPAworldwide’s highest honor. The following link will direct you to the history of the award and NPA’s distinguished past recipients: https://members.npaworldwide.com/page/chairman-s-award
I hope all of you will reach and congratulate Bill.
Bill joined NPAworldwide in February 2004 and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2014. In 2015, he was elected to the Executive Committee as Secretary-Treasurer, 2017 ChairmanElect, 2018-2020 Chairman and Past Chairman 2021. During his tenure on the Board he was the thought leader in creating initiatives and processes centered around member feedback and satisfaction. In addition, Bill served on numerous board committees and sub-committees. Prior to joining the Board, Bill was the Accounting/Finance Practice Group Leader. Bill remains active in the network doing splits and achieving Gold Level status, attending meeting and hosting calls. Bill also currently serves as the Retained Search Specialty Group Leader and is the Chairman of our membership subcommittee. I have asked Bill to comment on his receipt of the Chairman’s Award:
"I am honored and humbled to be selected as the next Chairman’s Award winner. The best kind of recognition is recognition that comes from peers – it truly means so much to me. The time that I have spent working as a volunteer and board member with NPAworldwide has given me back much more than I have given. I have built lifelong friendships which are far more valuable than any cost of membership. I would encourage others to follow my footsteps and take on a volunteer leadership role. I know through this involvement, I have gained brothers and sisters around the world. I’ve gained experiences and have had the chance to be part of something bigger than myself. We are a diverse group in almost every way yet we are all bound by similar values and objectives and share ownership of a cooperative designed to help us be more successful – how cool is that?! Thanks to everyone who has been supportive of me – I know there are plenty of you! Thanks to the Board for the recognition. Can’t wait to see everyone in Atlanta."
NPAworldwide Holiday Meeting
The Essence of NPA continued with a great meeting in NYC on December 8. Some great best practices content was shared with the attendees. In addition, NPA President Dave Nerz inducted both Laura Schmieder of Premier Placement, and Yours Truly into the Hall of Fame in recognition of our recent Double Platinum achievement. Thanks to Area Leader Alvin Shin and NPA staff for coordinating this great event. As well, I would like to thank our vendor partners for their participation and sponsorship.
Our virtual Annual Meeting will take place via Zoom on Thursday, March 2nd. Proxies and other important details will be distributed to the Voting Member owners early in the New Year. Please watch for this and make a plan to participate in the governance of your network.