At the OneFPA Chapter Leaders Conference in November 2019, we had an opportunity to talk with several chapter leaders who opted to apply to be part of the OneFPA beta-test that started officially on January 1, 2020. Our conversations with these chapter leaders focused on the decision-making process their boards went through to determine their interest in applying, the opportunities they saw in being a beta-test chapter, the potential challenges they would face and, ultimately, why they opted to apply.
One of the chapters that applied – and is now a beta-test chapter – is the FPA of Illinois. As Randy Bruns, CFP® and Alex Offerman, CFP® share in the video below, they saw the beta-test as an opportunity to create a better connection between FPA and their chapter while building on their success having their chapter executive, Kristin Prine, already being an employee of FPA National. And while they are now part of the beta-test, they did so with some concern about how the chapter will maintain control of their finances.
The chapter leaders also stressed the importance of community as a key pillar of the OneFPA Network.
“Whenever we say, ‘what are we missing here?’ it always seems to come back to community,” Bruns says. “This should all be about community. I’d like to be able to look back and say, ‘This is what is supporting and strengthening the community that is the FPA of Illinois.’”