A week later, and the energy of the 2013 VHMA Annual Conference is still putting a smile on my face. One of the many highlights for me was the CVPM membership meeting on Saturday evening. We had an incredible 72 CVPMs in attendance at the conference, and a great number of them gathered together to recognize the class of 2013 in a pinning ceremony. It was a bittersweet evening for me, as I ended my term as the CVPM Chair.
As I stood on the podium, accepting a plaque and beautiful bouquet of flowers from the Board of Directors, there were many things running through my mind as I looked out at so many of my dearest friends, in the audience. I immediately thought back to that weekend when I sat for my exam, in 2004 at the Key West Retreat. I shared my story of meeting my mentor, Lisa Yackel face-to-face for the first time. Lisa had called me often and offered guidance during the six months leading up to my exam date. She flew to Key West and we roomed together for the first of many, many VHMA conferences in the years since. She was so confident that I would pass the exam that she bought me a beautiful frame to display my certificate in, but when she arrived it had shattered in her suitcase.
The story I didn’t share last Saturday evening was just as vivid a memory. As I looked out and saw Peter Ainslie sitting with the other board members, my mind immediately leapt to someone who wasn’t there: Christy Johnson.
The exam has evolved in the past 10 years to today’s electronic version that is available in test centers all around North America, making it more accessible to qualified candidates. The year I took the exam was the final year of the oral portion of the exam. Had I known that at the time, I probably would have waited a year because public speaking terrified me! I’m so glad I didn’t do that, because my oral examiners were two very special people who have continued to encourage me in the years since: Peter and Christy.
I was literally shaking when I entered the small room that was set-up for the oral portion of the exam. As I sat down, Peter reached over to turn on the video camera and Christy offered me a warm smile. That smile kept me from completely falling apart as they began the series of oral questions. As they both went into “stone-faced” mode, taking notes as I responded to the questions, I hung onto that smile as the encouragement I needed to get through the next 30 minutes. Six weeks later, when an official-looking letter arrived at my practice, I again started shaking. As I read the contents of the letter, I burst into tears and my staff immediately thought I had failed the exam. However, those tears were out of relief and sheer joy after learning I had passed!
Today, it’s hard to believe that my career revolves around public speaking when I look back to that day in Key West. The people in my lives who have always encouraged and inspired me get a lot of the credit—-or blame!;) This year Christy has been battling inflammatory breast cancer. She had registered to attend this year’s annual conference and found out days before that her doctor wouldn’t allow her to travel. She was in my thoughts the entire weekend, and I know she would have been so proud to have seen the number of CVPMs who were in attendance.
Christy….you continue to inspire me everyday! You might not have been in Charlotte last weekend, but your presence was very much felt. From the entire CVPM Board of Directors, we love you!