Well it's Sunday 6th January and I'm officially 6 days into my reign as JCI Birmingham President for 2013.

So, who am I??

My name is Kirstie Barnett, I'm 32 and a resident of Birmingham and I've been a JCI UK member since Feb 2010 when I joined JCI Barnsley as I was living and working in the area. Since I've been a JCI member I've held a number of different roles including Director of Administration, Deputy President and I've just completed a year as JCI Barnsley's President for 2012!

So what can I bring to JCI??

In my year as President last year, I enjoyed a fantastic year, a hugely successful and award winning year! We increased our membership numbers from 12 to 28 in 12 months, won awards at both regional and national within JCI and empowered local people to create positive change in their community and themselves. I'm a positive, enthusiastic person and my infectious passion for JCI passes onto those around me. This in turn helps to strengthen a chamber, get things done and also makes people want to get involved in this "JCI thing" that I do!

So what do we have planned for 2013 in Birmingham??

So far we have a small but hugely enthusiastic team of 3! Myself, Kay and Colin are all members and spearheading the development of JCI Brum as I affectionately like to call us. We have met several times last year to start getting our plans down and have already created a Twitter account, a LinkedIn account and a Facebook fan page to start spreading the JCI word. We have also chosen our charity for 2013, Help Harry Help Others and are meeting with the founder and a ambassador for the charity at the end of the month to understand just how JCI Brum members can help support the charity. We have also formed a fantastic strategic alliance with BPP who we will be using as a venue for our meetings and training throughout the year.

So what are our next steps??

We are planning a launch/new members night at the beginning of March. The aim of the night will be to get some guest speakers, including JCI National President Emma Eastwood and Help Harry Help Others to talk about what they are involved in and showcase just what JCI can bring to your lives and careers.

So how can you get involved??

In order for JCI Brum to succeed we need you! We need the people of Birmingham to get involved, inspire action in their communities and themselves and join our chamber. For just £10 a month you can be a member of JCI Birmingham and get involved so why wait? Drop us an email at jcibirmingham@hotmail.co.uk