This year's theme was #ElevateEveryMoment
The American Cancer Society’s 2020 Volunteer Summit, previously known as the Nationwide Volunteer and Staff Leadership Summit, took place on February 12 and 13 at the Loew’s Hotel in Atlanta.
Approximately 250 volunteer leaders, primarily Area Board members, and their staff partners attended the event, co-hosted by
Marquetta Bryan, Georgia Area Board chair, and Jeff Fehlis, executive vice president, South Region.
The opening session featured CEO Gary Reedy;
Kris Kim, acting chief operating officer; Bill Cance, MD, our chief medical and scientific officer; Lisa Lacasse, president of ACS CAN, and other senior leaders sharing enterprise priorities and key aspects of
our three-year enterprise strategic plan. The session also included words from
Dan Heist, immediate past chair of the ACS Board of Directors, and
Jeff Kean, 2020 Board chair.
On Wednesday, participants learned about "The Role of Health Equity" and "Relationship Sales." Panelists for the session on health equity were
Dr. Rick Ngo, Houston Area Board, South Region;
Pooja Mishra, MBA, MHA, FACHE, LSSGB, executive director, Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence, Grady Health System; Laurie Bertrand, executive director, Development, North Region;
Carolyn Rhee, past chair Los Angeles Central Coast Area Board, West Region;
Dave Panana, AZ/NM Area Board member; and
Tracy Wiedt, managing director, Healthy Communities, ACS.
The "Relationship Sales" session showcased the value and art of relationship selling vs. transactional selling, especially in the non-profit arena where we're asking people to give their time, talent, or treasure versus buying a product. Three videos highlighted staff and volunteer successes. Presenters were
Rob Soles, Illinois Area Board, North Central Region;
Crystal Yelverton, director, Field Sales Relationship Management, ACS; and
Latanza Adjei, senior VP of sales and marketing, Georgia Power.
Later in the afternoon, a session on "Embracing and Enlisting Diversity" featured
Tawana Thomas-Johnson, our VP, Diversity & Inclusion, ACS;
Naomi Rainey Pearson Erdmann, Los Angeles Central Coast Area Board and Long Beach NAACP president and community activist;
Wendy Johnson, executive director, Development in Tampa, Southeast Region;
Dr. Christal Morris, VP, Global Inclusion Diversity, Idex Corp.; and
Dr. Kimberly Jeffries Leonard, ACS CAN board. All area planning related to volunteer growth and leadership succession must include specific diversity and inclusion goals appropriate to that market.
The last session of the first day was on access to care. The goal was to have volunteer leaders understand the efforts and needs regarding transportation resources for patients, and our ongoing advocacy efforts. Presenters were
Jeff Martin, Advocacy Administration and Training Operations, ACS CAN, and
Lindsay Maggio McElwee, executive director, Development, in South Texas, South Region.
The keynote speaker on Wednesday was
Bob Somers, senior VP of sales, for Delta Airlines. He discussed #CreatingMoments and customer experience.
On Thursday, Mike Neal, senior EVP, Field Operations, reviewed highlights of 2019. Mike also shared his vision on how the strategic plan can be executed at the community level, with a focus on 2020.
The closing speaker was
Dave Rose, a cancer survivor, and former Brigham Young University basketball head coach. In June 2009, on a late-night flight, he became ill, feeling dizzy and lightheaded. Paramedics took him from the plane directly to the hospital where the doctors discovered a tumor in Dave’s stomach and proceeded to remove it along with his spleen, a portion of his pancreas, and nearby lymph nodes. Later, doctors diagnosed him with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor cancer. The surgery was a success and he has been in remission. Since that time, Dave has served on the National Coaches vs. Cancer Council and has lobbied before Congress for more funding for cancer research.
The opening and closing presentations are being recorded and replays will be available next week.
TOP PHOTO: From left, Jeff Fehlis, Gary Reedy, Kris Kim, Lisa Lacasse, and Bill Cance, MD.
