One year.(Credit Column)

In one way, a year can seem like a long time; but then at other times, it goes by so fast that it is hard to believe. My year as NACM Chairman seemed to go by very fast, maybe because the job does consume so much time and energy that time passes quickly. Even though the time moved rapidly, I feel that some important milestones were reached in the past year.

We, as an organization, completed a task through the Strategic Initiatives Task Force that took over two years to complete. A new Affiliate Agreement, discussed and re-discussed, was finally put to the test at the local Board level. To the dismay of many, it was defeated. When thinking about the outcome of the agreement, I asked myself whether the time invested in creating a new agreement was time well spent. In searching for the answer, I remembered that as my children were growing up, I always told them that they learned from everything that they do in this world. The Agreement was no exception.

The time spent to create and prepare an agreement for 50 Affiliates to sign was a major task, but the lessons learned and the details discussed are valuable to this organization. It will help us move into the future with a greater understanding of the need for solidarity of effort and ideas. Some of the ideas generated were good ones ... and can be used as building blocks for a strategic plan leading us to the future of our Association.

There is no doubt that the organization is faced with many changes and challenges as a result of new technologies, changes in the workforce environment, and bigger and stronger competitors: all the more reason for a stronger union between the various members of the NACM family.

We need to raise the bar on the level of services we supply and continue to educate and provide viable services to our affiliates, subsidiaries, associates and most importantly--the members. In order to do this, we must work together, not act as lone rangers, trying to beat our own drum. We need solidarity and consolidation of effort in order to compete. We need to keep challenging ourselves and our organization to new levels.

Someone once asked if the problems would ever cease. I simply reference the message I delivered to this Association as Chairman: This is not a perfect world and, as long as it is not perfect, we will always be challenged and there will always be problems to confront. The important thing to remember is to keep the goals that we set for ourselves and the organization in the forefront: listen to those around us and to those who our decisions will effect. The more perfect solution is the one that will work for all of us--not for just one of us. It is the union of thoughts and ideas and the execution of those unified ideas that will lead to success.

Working together works.