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Abstract
In this address, 2022 Southern States Communication Association President, Dr. Wendy Atkins-Sayre, argues that hospitality is a hallmark of the organization that we should embrace more passionately. Acknowledging the complicated history of hospitality in the Southern region, Dr. Atkins-Sayre encourages SSCA members to help reclaim, redefine, and reform the concept, putting hospitality into practice in our classrooms, research, service, and the organization itself. She concludes that genuine acts of hospitality can create a supportive environment; caring for others, offering help and support, creating a friendly and inviting atmosphere, giving generously to strangers and friends alike, opens doors for others, potentially changing lives and building a stronger region at the same time.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. There is no way that one person can do all this organizational work alone, and I was fortunate to share this experience with some fantastic colleagues. That leadership team came together and moved the organization forward through a very difficult time, including a canceled conference in 2020 due to the pandemic, the death of our colleague and SSCA president, Dr. Shawn Long, in 2021, and our first virtual conference later that year. I am forever grateful for the friendship and hard work of Shawn Long, Pamela Bourland-Davis, Tina Harris, Ann Burnette, and John Haas. Shawn served as a formative mentor to me as I began this SSCA journey, serving as SSCA president ahead of me. He was such a powerful force in the organization and we have all continued to miss his leadership as well as his friendship.
2. That person I have to name – the late Dr. Charles Tardy, who was not only the department chair at the University of Southern Mississippi, but also a former SSCA president and longtime member. We also lost Chuck in 2021, adding to the difficulty of that time period.