It’s not novel to theme a publication this time of year around gratitude and recognition. It is, after all, a season of expressing gratitude, engaging in recognition of others, and reflecting on the year we’re finishing and the one before us.
This issue of Perspectives is landing at this unique moment – after the hustle of the AFA Annual Meeting and closure of another academic term along with our consideration of the fresh start of a new year. We hope it arrives at a time when you can find a few moments to reflect on your own practice of gratitude and how we individually and organizationally engage in recognition in meaningful ways. Perhaps you’ll engage with this issue as you pick back up in 2024 and freshly consider how we can enter with an intention to recognize deeply and authentically and live in gratitude.
As the board considered topics for this issue, we coalesced around the topic of recognition – specifically, the varied ways we can recognize others. That might be individual people, donors, or chapters, and you’ll find this issue includes articles that center around recognition and gratitude in these disparate but important ways. There are pieces that highlight the value and impact recognition can have on people and groups. There are other pieces that share innovative ways to think about recognition in values-centered ways.
As editors of this publication, we remain grateful for the opportunity to serve this Association in a way that challenges our board to identify and curate content that provides learning and connection. We are grateful for the opportunities to grow as professionals in these roles and the many times that we get to interact with outstanding board members, authors, and other Association volunteers and staff.
We would like to specifically recognize the outstanding contributions and talents of the Perspectives editorial board. We are surrounded by amazing volunteers that share their brilliance and hard work with the Association as members of this board. We are grateful for time spent with them sharing good ideas, laughs, and insights that have and will ensure Perspectives continues advancing. We also asked them, the members of the board, to share their reflections on their service and why this service deepens their gratitude for AFA. View their reflections in the short video above.
Captioning is auto-generated and may contain minor errors.
