_Greetings Members and Nursing Students! Kirsten Williams, your 2011-2012 Vice President addressing you on behalf of our president, Elizabeth Diaz, who sends her regards and regrets about not being able to attend this year's annual convention.

I want to start by thanking everyone who attended this year's annual convention at Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing in Portland, Oregon! It was great to see so many students from nursing programs across the state, even as far away as Ashland, OR! Your presence truly made this convention a success. In final counts, we had over 350 nursing students in attendance, with over 50 delegates at our House of Delegates!

A quick summary of our House of Delegates:
- We successfully passed four Bylaws Amendments, with the complete revised version available now on our BYLAWS page.
- We heard and adopted two Resolutions:
    - one from Melissa Ozmore of the Portland campus at OHSU
    - and one from your 2011-2012 OSNA Board of Directors
- We elected a full Board of Directors for the 2012-2013 term of office!
Names & school affiliations can be viewed on our Board of Directors page

Also this year we held our second Council of School Presidents (COSP), with eight chapter presidents in attendance from the around the state. It was a wonderful opportunity to share experiences and ideas, answer questions, and gain inspiration for the year to come. Some ideas that came out of this year's COSP:
    - a COSP retreat in August/September that includes Vice Presidents
    - multi-chapter Community Outreach events
    - A chapter officer's FORUM on our website!! Open now for your comments!

For a summary of this year's convention, and pictures coming soon, please visit our Convention 2012 page

Please consider attending either the NSNA Annual Convention in Pittsburg, PA, or the ONA Annual Convention in Hood River, OR this April!

Also, please consider joining a committee for next year! There is a complete list and a description of some of our committees on our Get Involved! page, however, each committee is connected to Board member, and from our Bylaws, you can view the scope of responsibilities for that Board member to get an idea of the related committee responsibilities. Applications will be open March 1st!

And last, but certainly not least, I want give a HUGE shout out to our 2011-2012 Board of Directors, and all of the hard work they have put in this year. They have been an amazing group to work with, and I look forward to knowing them through their careers as we launch into our nursing professions!

Sincerely,

Kirsten Williams
2011-2012 OSNA Vice President

 As my first blog to you as president, I want to express my sincere gratitude that you have elected me as your chief representative. I have no doubt that we will advance our initiatives as a board to best serve your interests as Oregon Student Nurses’ Association (OSNA) members. We express great confidence that the OSNA will fulfill its duties to inform, assist, and support the student nursing community. My experience as OSNA president has been remarkable thus far. I am truly blessed to be working so closely with supporters, donors, and advocates who constantly inspire us. I am pleased to announce OSNA is working to align itself more closely with the Oregon Nurses’ Association (ONA). We are continually helped by the ONA and are excited for the development that relationship.

As I started my second year serving on the board of directors, my enthusiasm and commitment to serving you is greater than ever. Thanks to your hard work, engagement, and devotion, this year we have reached more future nurses than ever before.

Please note that we have scheduled monthly e-mail blasts filled with events and opportunities so that you can help make a difference in the community. OSNA will be sending out information that will be valuable as you reach graduation and start applying for jobs. I will soon be directing a Council of School President (COSP) workshop for all school president’s of nursing clubs or a representative from a nursing school who may be interested in attending.

I will now take the opportunity to thank each of you for your support and dedication to the OSNA. It is an honor to be your colleague.

Have an excellent year, and remember that I am always available.

Welcome to the President's Blog! Update coming soon