President’s Message – November

As we begin the month of Thanksgiving, I would like to take a moment to give thanks to all of you who have actively participated in or attended a Georgia Planning Association event in 2025. We are an organization comprised of volunteers, and volunteers are instrumental to who we are and what we accomplish. One initiative that the Board continues to review is how we strengthen our volunteer organization. One missing piece is having a paid administrator. GPA is one of the largest APA chapters in the country that does not have a paid administrator. As I complete my term as President and pass the baton to Allison Stewart-Harris on January 1, positioning our organization to better serve all of us is our focus. 

In our recent membership survey, we heard from the membership that you want to better understand what we do. You have asked us how to get involved, provide more technical training, host more events outside our conferences, and conduct events outside metro Atlanta. Key to our success is having the resources available to support GPA. So as we end this year and begin the next, we will continue to take action to strengthen our organization.

Other key 2026 initiatives include:

• Reviewing and updating the Chapter’s 3-Year Development Plan;
• Reviewing and updating the Chapter’s Bylaws and bringing to the membership for approval;
• Developing a Chapter Code of Conduct;
• Engaging our Emerging and Student Planners; and 
• Formalizing a Membership Committee.

We will build upon our core foundation and serve you, our membership. If you have interest in working with the Board on any of these initiatives, please reach out to me.

I am thankful for each and everyone of you who work daily to make our communities great!

Warmest regards,

Kristen Wescott