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At the Heart of Missouri ACC: Interview with Beth Quick-Andrews
As the driving force behind the Missouri ACC, our Chapter Executive Ms. Beth Quick Andrews plays an essential role in ensuring the comprehensive functioning of the MO chapter.
From planning and executing all state chapter events including the annual scientific meeting, coordinating member engagement efforts through social media and communications, to managing daily operations including liaising with the national ACC, Beth and her team make all the magic happen both on the front lines and behind the scenes.
Her commitment to supporting clinicians, amplifying member voices, and building strong connections with national ACC leadership has helped the chapter thrive. In this interview with MO ACC Connect, she reflects on her years of service, the lessons she has learned, and the vision she carries for the success of the MO ACC Chapter.
You have been the guiding force of the MO ACC Chapter for many years. Looking back, what originally drew you to this work, and what has kept you committed over the years?
I am not a clinician of any kind. I had an advanced biology class in high school that cured me of pursing a clinical career in medicine. I quickly learned that the social sciences are my thing. I love the group dynamics and being part of teams that generate results greater than the sum of their individual parts. I was raised with a strong sense of community focused on inclusion and have a solid foundation of structure and systems thinking. My degree in management and political science made association management a perfect career fit. When I graduated from college and my business became full time, I started getting to know people by being involved with various associations (chambers of commerce, etc.). People do business with people they know and like. When I received my first referral for an association client (a group of female healthcare executives), it just clicked. I continued to pursue continuing education in the association management profession and earned the Certified Association Executive credential from the American Society of Association Executives (it is like the CPA for accountants). When Tonya Ferguson, my predecessor and the Missouri ACC’s founding Chapter Executive, decided to retire, she reached out to me to see if I would be interested in working with the Missouri ACC. We had been colleagues for many years. I was honored that she thought so highly of me to recommend me to Grif Bowen, M.D., FACC and Greg Flaker, M.D., FACC. I interviewed with Drs. Bowen and Flaker and the rest, as they say, is history.
Supporting multiple state chapters (Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma) requires adaptability and a deep commitment to connection. How has working across states shaped your approach to leadership and engagement?
Each of the ACC chapters I have the privilege of managing has its own unique culture and character, all the while remaining focused on realizing the ACC’s mission “to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health.” For me, it all comes down to collaboration. Connection is a natural extension of collaboration. This collaboration happens within each state as we produce scientific sessions and now, between the states, as we deliver the quarterly Virtual Cath Conference. Scientific math is not my strong suit (see above). Collaboration math is my superpower. I firmly believe that 2+2 can equal way more than four!
In your experience, what qualities make a chapter successful, and how have you helped cultivate those within MO ACC?
By far and away the most important quality is leadership committed to making a difference for their colleagues and their patients. Whether it is thinking outside the box on the chapter scientific session, creating new educational offerings, fostering connections with other ACC chapters and sections, supporting research projects or launching initiatives that help educate and inform patients, it is so fulfilling to see the positive impact the Missouri ACC has on the various constituencies we serve. I have tried to help cultivate this by taking a “Yes...and” approach to build upon great ideas that bubble up.
Reflecting on your many years of service, what moments of community, teamwork, or impact have stayed with you the most?
Thinking back to when I started with the chapter 15 years ago, if I am being honest, I was quite intimidated on our various planning calls. As I said, I am not clinician. One of the breakthrough moments I had was when I shared a story I had seen on the local news about 3-D printing of children’s hearts that was being done at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. I suggested that we reach out to the physician interviewed to see if she would speak at our next chapter scientific session about this innovation. Everyone thought it was a great idea.
This inclusion reflects one of the many great characteristics of ACC members...and that is the focus on team-based care. Everyone is an important part of the care team. When it comes to managing the chapter, I have had the incredibly good fortune of working with so many gifted, talented, and thoughtful leaders. Our mutually respectful partnership is the key to success.
As you look toward the future, both for yourself and for the MO ACC Chapter, what hopes or goals do you have for the next chapter of growth?
Our association management company’s vision is to bring people together so that they may learn and grow with one another, so that we all may evolve in a civilized society. The pandemic certainly tested us in so many ways…but two of the many blessings that came from the pandemic were innovation and appreciation. As I sat at my laptop watching Andrew Kates, M.D., FACC give the opening remarks to ACC.20 from his home office in St. Louis (with ACC making the decision just a few weeks prior to flip the Annual Scientific Session to a completely virtual experience), I thought “huh...what in the world are we going to do? My business is bringing people together.” What we learned was to continue to innovate with virtual offerings and, just as importantly, to appreciate when we could all be safely together again. My goal remains focused on member engagement. It is imperative to meet members where they are and provide resources that meet their needs. Whether through our scientific session, webinars, geographically based get togethers…there is so much opportunity to collaborate and make those human connections...we are social creatures after all! This is what makes the ACC the professional home for cardiovascular care professionals.
