by Cory Docken, MHSCN board president

Hello and welcome to the New Year with MHSCN.

I am honored to be this year's MHSCN president, as this group has been an integral part of my healthcare career. Since 2018, I've been involved as a member, sponsor and board member. My participation in MHSCN has added value to my full-time role as vice president of digital strategy at O8, a Minneapolis-based digital marketing agency.

There's no doubt that the past two years have been unprecedented — and at times unbearable. Being involved with the MHSCN board, as well as serving healthcare clients, has given me an up close view of what healthcare marketers and communicators have faced. I want to give a huge shout-out to all of you, particularly those of you who work in clinics, hospitals, and health systems for everything you did — and keep doing — to help your organization push through these challenging times.

Now more than ever we want MHSCN to provide value. We have a committed and energetic board that's working hard to make 2022 a banner year for MHSCN. An area of focus this year will be to continue to boost the value of our membership, whether through education programming or networking with peers. So, please share your feedback in our periodic surveys. Our board wants to understand how best we can support and serve our members. Your feedback will inform our planning for events in 2022, as well as other programs like our annual awards. On the sponsorship side, our president-elect and I are developing packages that will enable you to connect with members and raise awareness of your products and services.

As we transition to a new year, I want to thank past-president Emily Lowther for her leadership in 2021, and welcome our newest board members: Aimee Jordan, Jenna Sheldon, Madeline Riggs and Kristen Spargo. We appreciate their commitment to this organization.

I invite you to contact me at cory@o8.agency to discuss potential sponsorship opportunities, any programmatic or event ideas or just to say hello. I look forward to seeing you at our events this year!