01/03/24

Good afternoon and happy New Year KYACHW members!

I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and share some information about the upcoming year for KYACHW. My name is Michaela Amburgey and I am the new KYACHW President for 2024 and 2025. I have been involved in community health work since 2019 when I started with Kentucky Homeplace as a Community Health Worker in my hometown of Knott County. I currently work as a rural project manager for Kentucky Homeplace, located in Hazard in Perry County. I have been involved with KYACHW since 2019 and have served on several different committees and the KYACHW Board as well. I am very excited for what the new year holds for KYACHW and for a chance to get to meet those of you I do not yet know. Should you ever need anything concerning KYACHW or if you need to reach out about anything Community Health Worker-related please feel free to contact me at any time! 

Here are some dates to mark on your calendar for the upcoming year! 

·       March 21st, 2024- KYACHW 1st Quarter Meeting- Location: TBD

·       June 20th, 2024 – KYACHW 2nd Quarter Meeting- Location: TBD

·       September 19th & 20th – 9th Annual KYACHW Conference/3rd Quarter Meeting – Location: Embassy Suites/UK Coldstream, Lexington, KY 

·       November 7th, 2024 – 4th Quarter Meeting- Location: TBD 

Please remember that your membership dues are due as of 01/01/24 if you joined before October 2023. There is a 60-day grace period for payment before your membership is terminated, but please submit your applications as soon as possible. Going forward, membership will run from January 1st -December 31st, regardless of when you join as a member, to make the process easier on our volunteer Membership committee who tracks all membership and payment details. I have attached a 2024 KYACHW Membership application to this email. Individual and Community memberships have increased by $5 this year to help offset the cost of the annual conference. Please remember that your organization is welcome to purchase the organizational membership, which contains 10 slots at a discounted rate, even if all of the slots are not currently filled. Once they are filled, all you will need to do is let Samantha Bowman know the slot has been filled and provide the individual’s contact information. Memberships are non-transferable once designated for the calendar year. If you have questions about your membership, please contact Samantha Bowman during normal working hours at  Samantha.Bowman@uky.edu. 

As always, we would love for you to become involved with a committee if you are not already. The committees you can volunteer to join, as well as their chairpersons, are listed below. If you would like to join the committee please reach out to the committee chair or I can help make the connection.

Membership Committee

Review membership dues, organize outreach to improve membership.

Committee Chair: Samantha Bowman

                              Samantha.Bowman@uky.edu

Nominating Committee

Collect nominations for open offices and submit to Executive Committee for Elections. 

Committee Chair: Amanda Goolman

                              Amanda.Goolman@uky.edu

Conference Planning Committee

Plan and execute annual conference, also responsible for promoting the conference. 

Committee Chair: Brooke Perkins

                              PerkinsB@primaryplus.net

Professional Development/Training Committee

Responsible for finding and implementing trainings and Professional Development opportunities for CHWs.

Committee Chair: Kendall Wills

                              kwills@healthfirstlex.com 

Certification/Credentialing Committee

*Undergoing reassignment into Networking Committee 

If you wish to join the Networking Committee, please contact Angela McGuire at:  Angela.McGuire@uky.edu

Outreach and Social Media Marketing

To design, update and maintain a KYACHW website and be held responsible for event and outreach coordination. 

Committee Chair: Alicia Bowman

                              A.Bowman@krhio.org 

Thank you for being a member of KYACHW and for all of the work you do for your clients and communities. I hope you have a wonderful 2024 and hope to see you all soon! If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me at any time.

Michaela Amburgey, CCHW

KYACHW President

January 03, 2024

KYACHW Members,

Good Morning, I trust that each and everyone of you enjoyed the Holiday break and got to enjoy your family and friends. I know I sure cherished each moment I got to spend with mine. It’s a new year with new leaders in the Association, with saying this, I would like to personally welcome Michaela Amburgey as elected KYACHW President for the years 2024 and 2025. She is eager and excited to get this year started with some outstanding networking, learning and training opportunities for all CHW’s throughout Kentucky. She will be working diligently with each committee and communicating with members throughout her term.

The Kentucky Association of Community Health Workers has expanded in so many different areas and we want to continue to build on our known foundation and purpose which is to unify, promote and sustain the profession of CHW’s in KY, spreading knowledge and continually advocate for the recognition of CHW’s and our communities.

Welcome to all the old and new board members: Myself as acting Past President and President Elect for 2026-2028 and also Chair of By Laws, Shirley Prater as Treasurer, Kathy Hamilton as Secretary, Committee Chairs: Samantha Bowman Membership, Alicia Bowman Social Media and Marketing, Brooke Perkins Conference Planning, Kendall Wills Professional Development/Training and Amanda Goolman Nominations. We have had really great participation and communication through out the years and by the looks of these new board members we shall continue to do the same in the future. Please feel free to reach out to these members mentioned above for questions or concerns that you or your organization may have.

Attached as well are the newest bylaws, please note that there has been a membership increase starting January 01, 2024. This is the first increase in 8 years and we are trying to keep it within reach for all to be able to participate. If you have not paid for your 2024 dues the rates for a CHW has raised from $20.00 to $25.00 and for non CHW’s it has changed from $25.00 to $30.00. All other types of membership have remained the same as before.

New brochures are about to be ordered with all of the new committee chair updates, conference sponsorship levels and price changes mentioned above.

Thank you to everyone for making my Presidency one to be proud of and enjoyable. I have gained so many life long friendships through KYACHW and it has been a pleasure serving as your President the last 2 years. Please continue to sponsor, advocate and be active with your membership, should you ever want to serve on a committee, please just let me know. Again, welcome aboard President Michaela Amburgey and best wishes for a stress-free and productive year. We are all in the same KYACHW (boat)! 2024’s theme for our KYACHW 9th Annual Conference.

Sincerely,

Angela McGuire, CCHW

Past President