BALTIMORE—After what has been a year of change for the organization, Vinay Patel, outgoing chair of AAHOA, provided an update on the state of the association during the opening session of the AAHOA Conference and Trade Show held here at the Baltimore Convention Center.
“AAHOA has gone through so much in such a short amount of time,” said Patel. “But the way I see that change is progress.”
He quoted Simon Sinek, who said, “Ask yourself, do you think you need to change? And if you say, ‘No,’ you should be worried. We all need to change.”
“He suggests that we need to view ourselves and our organizations as a work in progress, we should view ourselves an infinite mindset, which is constant improvement,” said Patel. “So, if you’re not changing and evolving, you’re not progressing.”
He continued, “I want to take this opportunity to reiterate that despite all the changes at AAHOA, one thing remains constant—The fundamentals of this association are still strong, which will help us deal with all the changes and challenges…Despite all the challenges and despite all the changes, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than here. I’m so grateful that there was me at the helm, helping to lead this association during the disruptions, because that way, I could influence the future. I can help make sure this association moves forward when things happen that are out of our control.”
Patel said that despite the changes, the association is not going anywhere. “I understand, it can be concerning that AAHOA has gone through some drastic changes over the past year,” he told those in attendance. “There are several changes when it comes to staff, changes when it comes to leadership. We’re shifting how we do business as it pertains to the pandemic. But if you take away anything from what I’m telling you today, is that I want you to walk away feeling good about the industry, feeling good about the AAHOA. And knowing that from a long-term perspective, AAHOA is not going anyway.”
