In the beginning…
In 1995 there were only four NAPO National Professional Organizers in the State of Connecticut, and two met at a regional conference in Albany, NY sponsored by the NAPO-NY chapter. A friendship blossomed and they continued to meet monthly throughout the subsequent years to share ideas and concerns that developed as their organizing businesses grew. Several more organizers joined this casual gathering as word spread that this was the place to be if you were serious about your organizing business and wanted support from colleagues.
History began…
On the third Friday of every month, breakfast meetings were held at the Holiday Inn in North Haven under the restaurant’s leaky glass roof. When the group became too large, the Holiday Inn offered a private room with a breakfast buffet. This new room was sufficient for awhile until our numbers increased beyond capacity. We were eventually moved into a larger room where we continued to meet for several years, not just monthly meetings but full-day conferences and seminars.
In January 1998 the official Connecticut Informal Group was recognized by NAPO National during the Annual NAPO Conference in Portland, OR. Over the years this group of organizers developed into a cohesive assemblage with monthly meetings, educational presentations, seminars and National Conference attendance.
A chapter was born…
The hard work of forging forward in seeking chapter recognition began in 2002. Just to start the process, a requirement of NAPO National was that there were a minimum of 25 members meeting on a regular basis. We finally hit the mark and proceeded with the enormous amount of paperwork and the required documentations including establishing the first Bylaws for the proposed chapter. The moment arrived when we were ready to submit documentations to headquarters for chapter recognition.
In January 2003, the NAPO National Board of Directors announced the official chapter status of the Connecticut organizers. NAPO-CT was born.
The first NAPO-CT Board of Directors consisted of:
- President – Faith Manierre
- Vice President – Carolann Slayton
- Treasurer – Judith Ann Kirk
- Secretary – Carolee Cannata
- Past President – Jo Ann Sheldon
- Director-at-Large – Anita Taylor
- Director-at-Large – Miriam “Vin” Klein (missing from the photo)
