Our IOFM Chapters: How We Got to Where We Are Today

While we celebrate the IOFM Chapters in our first edition of The Chapter Pulse, it is important to look back at how the IOFM chapters first started, to gain some perspective on the great strides the chapters have made over the last seven years. 

The Early Days

When IOFM formed the first chapters in 2017, the chapter meetings were held live. The chapters were organized on a local basis, and members met to network and enjoy refreshments at members’ workplaces. 

In 2019, just as the IOFM Chapter initiative began to take hold, the COVID pandemic hit and dramatically changed the financial operations landscape—and the world. It changed how people lived, learned, did their jobs, and communicated.

The local chapters, no longer able to meet live because of stay-at-home COVID restrictions, had to find a way to continue to meet. While virtual meetings are now commonplace and standard operating procedure, it took considerable effort for the chapter leaders to develop strategies to engage people and encourage discussion in the new virtual “Zoom” environment. It was a novel way of gathering and communicating, and it required creative approaches to presenting meetings.

The Turning Point

As the nation began to heal from the impacts of COVID, the chapters moved from surviving in the virtual world to thriving. They began to develop creative strategies for engagement and interaction. Many of the smaller, local chapters joined forces to become stronger by banding together to form regional, statewide and nationwide chapters. This resulted in expanded membership and shared resources. 

In February 2024, Patti Pomerenke, a current leader of the Midwestern Region Chapter, organized and led an inter-chapter meeting with the goal of sharing ideas, identifying pain points, celebrating successes, and ensuring the future success and growth of IOFM Chapters. Each Chapter participated by sharing tips and strategies for increasing engagement. The ideas from that meeting were implemented successfully and are still being used and improved today. 

That spirit of sharing continues, and IOFM’s goal is to continue the communication that Patti Pomerenke and other chapters fostered by creating a platform for inter-chapter communication—the new chapter newsletter, The Chapter Pulse.

Photos courtesy of Patti Pomerenke