I believe that these messages are supposed to be upbeat and inspire our membership to achieve their goals and then set new goals that are even harder to accomplish.
Given the events of this year I have spent a huge amount of time and energy trying to achieve even modest goals. While this might seem fertile territory for some depressing messages from me, in fact it feels just the opposite.
Reflecting on my mood and the moods of the people that I know well, the first quarter of this year was one of extreme worry of a financial nature. The nation's financial system seemed on the brink of collapse and if it wasn't the cash money you might have been saving that you worried might disappear as banks went belly up, and then maybe it was your conservatively invested retirement fund that dropped 30 to 40%.
As we know the crisis is not totally over yet. The stock markets have had an amazing ride back to a reasonable level for now. The banks seem more stable than before and the Depression of the 1930's seems to have been averted.
On our association side our projected attendance for the Annual Convention is reasonable given the tight economy. Given that the Board signs contracts with the hotel sometimes 2 years in advance, it is always nerve wracking to take on the financial responsibility of paying for the meeting even if no one attends. To all of you who attended, you have many thanks from your Board of Directors as well as the benefits of the continuing education.
Finally, as you may have noticed, our quarterly publication of this newsletter has been a little off schedule. My thanks to Merry Hampton for jumping in as Newsletter Editor and getting us back on track. In closing, set some new and ambitious goals and go forth to achieve them. You will feel better for it.