Truly a Family

By Chris Tomlinson, MBA, CRA, FAHRA

One of the themes I have embraced for my presidency is “family.” The AHRA is truly a family and I carry this from Bill Algee’s presidency to my own. Family is a core component of this organization. I was happy to see Bill found a great place for the gift (AHRA sunburst guitar) from his family. It fits right in, doesn’t it?

I wanted to update everyone on some exciting changes within the AHRA. This year is a strategic planning year which allows us to look at what we are doing well and where we need to focus going forward. We have surveyed our members, convened focus groups as well as listened to our partners. We want to ensure we remain relevant and provide the quality content and programming members expect from the AHRA. We have formed a number of task forces made up of members and leaders of our organization to help inform this process. These task forces will look at committee structures, bylaws and where we need to ensure consistency in our organization. Additionally, we have convened a group to look at policy and procedures to ensure they remain relevant. All this great work will make a stronger and more complete strategic plan.

Dan Kelsey has continued to build his team with an eye towards the priorities of the AHRA and innovative ideas from other associations. He and his team are looking at branding, streamlining the membership process and continuing to assess our partnerships and associated organizations. He is also helping our teams determine which programs need additional investment, continued investment or no further investment based on member value.

The board has decided to sunset the Fall Virtual Meeting. This was not an easy decision as the fall meeting has been adjusted a few times over the last years to maximize member value. Based on feedback and attendance, the board felt resources could be allocated to programs that could impact a greater number of our members. We thank all those who worked on the fall meetings in the past. We have some ideas that will be forthcoming on reallocating those resources. Stay tuned.

I have asked our board to support the creation of a “Diversity and Inclusion” task force. The goal is to ensure we are engaging our members in the way they need and confirm we are not unintentionally excluding any one. The task force will focus on all areas of diversity and inclusion (e.g. race, generational, age, sex, military, socioeconomic, geographic, etc.). Angie Bush and Ernie Cerdena will lead this effort as they both are uniquely qualified for the role. I have asked the group to take this effort in any direction the committee feels necessary to ensure we embrace the diversity in our organization and find ways to engage groups of our members who may feel disengaged. Again, this effort will inform the strategic plan and allow us to allocate resources to support the recommendations of this committee. Look for surveys or other information as this task force undertakes its work.

As always, please contact me with any feedback or thoughts you have on the direction of the AHRA.

Chris Tomlinson

Chris Tomlinson, MBA, CRA, FAHRA is the 2019-2020 president of the AHRA Board of Directors. He is Enterprise Vice President at Radiology at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia, PA. He can be reached at Christopher.Tomlinson@jefferson.edu