New leadership at AIGA Minnesota June 29, 2012

29 June 2012

To our members,

I’m writing to announce the election of Jenny Schmitz-Hinshaw and Jennifer Price as AIGA Minnesota’s incoming president and vice president, respectively. Both Jenny and Jennifer have strong histories of service with the chapter and both have an unwavering commitment to its success. As they take office on July 1, please join me in congratulating and supporting them, along with the entire board.

When my friend and outgoing vice president Jen Soik and I began leading the chapter together two years ago, we did so with the stated goal of ushering in a new era of transparency, stability, and member empowerment. And as our terms come to an end, I’d like to personally thank every member, volunteer, and sponsor who helped our chapter begin to satisfy that goal.

Over the past two years, I’ve been fond of citing statistics that AIGA Minnesota is one of the largest design organizations in the nation, that we produce more programming than any of the 65 other AIGA chapters, and that we are consistently approached by other organizations who look to us for ideas, solutions, and guidance.

Jen and I are proud to have led this organization into a place where all of that is true, and we are humbled to have been given the opportunity to do so. But we didn’t do it alone—not by a long shot. We have been blessed throughout our entire term to have a patient and ever-present treasurer at our side, Kirstie Walheim. We were fortunate to be surrounded by the AIGA Minnesota board of directors, some of the most respected, dedicated, and hard-working creative professionals in the state. We are thankful for the generous support of dozens of sponsors who have worked with the chapter to form mutually-beneficial partnerships. We have been overwhelmed by the devotion and selflessness of more than 200 AIGA Minnesota members who choose to volunteer for the chapter every year.

But most importantly, Jen and I are proud members of the Minnesota creative community, one of the most vibrant and important in the world. I believe deeply that we’re stronger when we work together to support the common mission of advancing design and designers, rather than attempting to do so alone or individually.

That is the essence of AIGA, the professional association for design, and that is why I am proud to thank the nearly 1,400 AIGA Minnesota members for continuing to support our chapter, our profession, and our community.

I am beyond excited to see how Jenny and Jennifer will continue to grow our chapter and make it even better. They have all of my trust and I hope you’ll join me in wishing them well as they begin their leadership.

Kind regards,

Seth Johnson
outgoing president
AIGA Minnesota

P.S. As of July 1, please use the following contact information:

• Jenny Schmitz-Hinshaw: [email protected]
• Jennifer Price: [email protected]
• Seth Johnson: [email protected]
• Jen Soik: [email protected]