Richard Yep, CEO of ACA
I If there ever was a time when our communities, our nation, and our world needed the amazing work of professional advisors, now is the case. April is counseling awareness month, and over the past few years I have encouraged you to use the month to celebrate the counseling profession. Given everything our world has been through in the past 15 months, I know it might sound strange to say, "Let's celebrate!" But when you think of all the stories about resilience and how many adversities you have overcome, there is something to celebrate. Let's call it perseverance, sensitization or just old "increasing".
For those of you who identify as members of the counseling profession, please take a moment to study everything you do and experience, personally and professionally, to acknowledge the contribution you have made to this helping many people – customers – students, colleagues, friends, family members. Your work has helped our communities move forward. I am grateful for your efforts.
As many of you have continued to serve others, both in person and online, ACA wants to continue to serve your needs. We know we need to be just as creative in providing our services as you are in working with your clients and students.
This month, thousands of professional consultants, consultant educators, and PhD students will be "gathering" for the ACA's first virtual conference experience. There are twice as many keynote presentations as in previous years. With the event taking place in April and May, attendees can purchase more CEs in one place and at an ACA event than ever before. Even if you missed the original broadcast of a session, your registration will keep you on-demand until the end of May.
Why a virtual conference? Because those you represent on the Governing Council, as well as the ACA staff, have recognized the importance of providing information, resources, research results and networking opportunities. The advisory community didn't stop serving clients and students when COVID-19 hit. ACA has adopted this philosophy and will creatively offer our participants a first-class experience.
This will be different from any previous ACA conference. I therefore recommend that you be present at this event. I suggest that you reserve time on your calendar to attend keynotes and content sessions, just like you would if we were to meet in person. As busy professionals, it may be tempting to “multitask” during a virtual conference, but that might leave you a little unfulfilled. Block the time and try to focus on the sessions that you have decided on.
I must admit that I will miss seeing many of you and receiving the hugs our community is known for. All of this has to wait until the ACA conference in 2022. When the event opens on April 5, 2021, we'll be taking a bold move towards content delivery for the time being. We want you to focus on capitalizing on what your colleagues share. If you are one of our nearly 900 presenters, I know you will want the undivided attention of our attendees. I look forward to seeing many of you at the ACA Virtual Conference Experience.
I also hope that each of you will do something for yourself during Counseling Awareness Month, especially given all that we have been through. I continue to refer to the importance of self-care in this column, and I appreciate those of you who have shared with me what you are doing for your own self-care. I would like to hear more from you.
As always, I look forward to your comments, questions and thoughts. Call me at 800-347-6647. 231 or email me at [email protected]. You can also follow me on Twitter: @Richyep.
Be healthy.
