Back in March 2011 we re-launched Executive Secretary. Prior to this it had been in existence for about 16 years in various guises, but in March, we were reborn. And it really was like a birth, painful, at times uncomfortable and a lot of hard work but well worth the wait in the end.
Birthdays took on a new meaning for me when I became a parent. For each of my three children’s birthdays I look back on their lives so far, remember their successes and failures, and celebrate the people they are turning into.
As Executive Secretary turns one, I seem to be doing the same thing. I hope that you will agree that Executive Secretary is growing in terms of content with every issue. It has taken on a life of its own. I never expected, for example, to be travelling all over the world, speaking at events and meeting you all. Or to be climbing Kilimanjaro in July with a group of PAs to raise money for the Institute of Cancer Research. Or to be running a weekly online chat attended by over 1450 people per week as of last week’s figures, with some of the world’s best trainers giving their time for free to make sure that you get the development that you need, wherever you are in the world.
My vision for the magazine when I launched it was to develop not just a magazine, but a community.
And what a fantastic community you are turning into. The LinkedIn group now numbers almost 6000 administrative professionals from all over the world, and you are always so willing to help and support each other. I salute you.
In the next year, we will be launching new magazine just for VAs as well as an ‘Executive Secretary Live’ event, bringing our US writers to Europe as speakers, and incorporating a FAM day alongside training. We hope that next year we will hold a similar event in the US and take our European writers there. It’s all terribly exciting – watch this space!
Thanks to each and every one of you for making the last year a delight.
Lucy
