August 2026 Newsletter
President's Report
My daughter is headed into her senior year of high school, which has meant a summer full of college tours. Somewhere between our third and fourth stop, I watched the excitement start to wear off. She was suddenly walking into rooms full of people she had never met, trying to picture herself in a place that felt completely unfamiliar. She has spent her entire life in the same school district and has had many of the same friends since kindergarten, so watching her hit that wall of uncertainty was hard, mostly because I could not fix it. On the drive to the fourth campus, she looked over at me and asked, “What if I pick wrong?”
I wish I could tell you I knew exactly what to say. I did not. In fact, I am pretty sure I just started talking, hoping something helpful would come out. I told her that sometimes we spend so much energy trying to make the perfect decision that we forget there probably is not one. We talked about trying new things, about not always choosing what feels comfortable, and about how growth rarely starts with confidence. Somewhere in the middle of that conversation, I realized I was not just talking to her anymore. I was talking to myself.
The last couple of years have asked more of me than I ever expected. I took on the presidency of this Chapter, spent 80% of 2025 traveling to help open new offices and build relationships with people I had never met before, and then left the firm I had been with for years to start over somewhere completely new. Looking back, I would not change any of it, though there were plenty of moments when I questioned myself, days I drove home wondering if I was really cut out for everything I had taken on. In hindsight, it all seems brave. Living it did not feel brave at all. It mostly felt like walking through the door anyway, even when I would rather have stayed where things felt familiar.
I used to think confidence came first and then you did the hard thing. For me, it has been exactly the opposite. You do the hard thing, you survive it, and then one day you realize the confidence showed up somewhere along the way without you even noticing.
That is probably what I hope my daughter remembers most. I am not going to promise her she will make the perfect choice, because life does not work that way. What I can promise her is that some of the best things in my own life started with uncertainty, that they started with saying “yes” before I felt completely ready…and maybe that is true for more of us than we would like to admit. As members of ALA, we have all had those moments, a new job, a promotion, speaking in front of a room, raising your hand to volunteer, walking into an event where you do not know anyone. None of it feels comfortable in the moment, but that is usually where the growth happens!
Which brings me to our August New Member Happy Hour! On Wednesday, August 5, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m., we will be gathering at Buckeye Bourbon House to welcome the newest members of our chapter. If you have been thinking about coming to an event but have not quite made it yet, maybe this is your sign. You never know what one conversation, one introduction, or one new connection might lead to. I hope to see you there!!
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”-Anais Nin
Julie Bryan
https://alacolumbus.starchapter.com/images/news/ALA_August_2026_Newsletter.pdf
