Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Greetings. Today, I complete my term of 2019-2020 Texas Gulf Coast GAPNA Chapter president. I want to start wishing all of you well in this uncertain time of the health crisis we are experiencing. I wish I can speak to you directly and see your happy faces "when we gather." However, I will not let this day pass to address my final moment to speak to the chapter members who have been very supportive of my leadership as Chapter President. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity and prestige to serve this organization for the past year. Thank you!  Thank you for your encouragement, your friendship, for your trust. And thank you for allowing me to represent the excellent APRN Gerontological providers not only in our great Lone Star state but nationwide. Together we have made little strides and productive progress in our goals of networking, learning something and giving something new to benefit our peers and our community. When I joined the board in 2019, it was unclear how I could impact the chapter or even our organization. I know I love to work, lead, and learn.  I thought this was enough! I had no previous board experience, governing a chapter and directly affecting some change in the profession and community was not clear. I took the challenge to not only "make a difference" but to become a better professional colleague and by giving in any and every way I could, while further advancing the mission of our wonderful GAPNA organization.

Expressing further my gratitude, I want to acknowledge the guidance of our past presidents Lisa Ginapp, Karolina Dimitrinova, and Julie Gisette. Their knowledge and experience have given me the courage to step and do my mission. Additionally, our past board and current officers Lillian -Flores Perez, Abiola Williams, Rebecca Saade, Shuyan Bi, and President-Elect Melissa Lockhart and others experiences and leadership. Thank you, Dr. Fay, for always being there when we need you for continuing education credits. It was a great collaboration! I was able to understand that for an organizational chapter to be truly successful, all parts of the professional society share mutual goals and aspirations to sustain its mission. I appreciate your presence and attentiveness to our executive board meetings, immediate needs for chapter resources, and all other essential reports and collaboration backstage. I know we can do even more.  I am confident and excited to hand-off and share GCGAPNA's mission and goals continuing plan of action and activities to our President 2020-2021 Dr. Melissa Lochart.  Her extreme passion for education, community outreach, and excellence extend GCGAPNA's mission and goals.  So, for now, and until then, we look forward to this digital age of connectivity. I will see you soon. The best is yet to come!

Thank you. Good health and Godspeed!

Myla A. Magno DNP APRN GNP-BC GS-C

Texas Gulf Coast Immediate Past -President 2019-2020