#AOIIVirtualLI Recap
This past weekend, nearly 900 AOII sisters across North America gathered virtually for Leadership Institute 2020. While the event looked different this year due to COVID-19, the weekend was still filled with moments each AOII sister looks forward to at every event: education, reunions and sisterhood. Prior to the event, attendees had the opportunity to connect through the event app, Whova, to start conversations with each other and plan their own virtual gatherings during LI. Through this app, participants were also able to utilize the agenda feature to learn more about education tracks and other fun sessions prior to the event and during the weekend. To also prepare for the event, attendees received an #AOIIVirtualLI branded swag box containing a AOII “Be Inspired” t-shirt, a pen, a whiteboard to utilize in sessions, keyboard stickers and emoji stickers for computer decor. Participants were so excited to have this gift arrive at their door!
Beginning Friday evening, attendees gathered on Zoom through the Whova app for the opening session led by Executive Director Kaya Miller and Assistant Executive Director Jackie Petrucci which included a wonderful keynote speech from Chris Meroff, Founder and CEO of Alignment Leadership. Following the welcome and keynote was a Social & Networking Hour which included fun games, celebrations and happy hours to wrap up Friday evening.
Due to the event gathering sisters across North American time zones, Saturday’s morning session began bright and early for some attendees, while others were getting ready for lunch. The morning session began with a welcome back from Kaya Miller and Jackie Petrucci, followed by another impactful keynote message delivered by Jaclyn Johnson, Founder and CEO of Create & Cultivate. To wrap up the morning session the Fraternity and AOII Foundation shared updates with attendees and sisters live on Facebook. Friday afternoon was filled with a variety of learning tracks, inspiration sessions, mentor power hours and more. Through these sessions and activities, attendees were able to hear from an array of speakers, professionals and sisters from across North America.
To wrap up the weekend, AOII held the Virtual Leadership Institute 2020 Awards Ceremony live from AOII Headquarters in Brentwood, Tennessee. The ceremony was also streamed on Facebook Live, allowing sisters everywhere to join in and watch the awards. Nearly 300 awards were distributed from 24 categories for both collegiate and alumnae members and chapters. Congratulations to all of our awards winners!
This successful weekend would not have been made possible without AOII’s amazing volunteers and Headquarters Staff members. Many thanks to AOII’s Events Team for their countless hours of hard work and dedication for this International Event. See you in Palm Desert, California for Convention 2021!