Goodbyes – and Hellos.(October 2022 Chair's Column)

Goodbyes – and Hellos.

Several times in this space this year, I’ve alluded to Fall/Autumn as my favorite season.  I think there are lots of reasons, including the change in weather, the football season, my nerdy enjoyment of school, and mostly, memories of family.  My little family would come together in the Fall and start celebrating the seasonal holidays, often as we watched cartoon specials on TV.  This month, I’m thinking about a quote from one of my favorite characters, Charlie Brown – “Goodbyes always make my throat hurt...I need more hellos.”

Standing on stage on the final day of our Annual Conference with Kevin Shea, our retiring President, his wife Anne, their friends and a litany of great GEDA members, that little quote echoed in the back of my mind.  As I wrote last month, it’s been a year of transitions – and those can be tough.

Goodbyes remind us that there are lots of hellos to enjoy, too.  The theme of our Annual Conference in Savannah last month was “Welcome to the Future” as we looked ahead to the exciting changes facing our profession.  (Congratulations to Trip Tollison and his team on a tremendously successful event!) Soon, we’ll have a new President of GEDA, someone who will jump in and continue to lead the great work of this Association.  In October, we’ll get back together for our traditional Consultants luncheon and learn new and exciting things about our profession and hopefully say hello to new friends.

I also hope that you’ll continue to support and enjoy GEDA as this year winds down and we look to 2023.  In a slight change to our normal process, I will serve a second year as your Chair.  Along with your Officers, Board, and Committee and SIG Chairs, I will do my best to provide some continuity as we bring on board a new President.  So, I get to avoid saying “goodbye” to you as your Chair for one more year – an opportunity that I will look forward to and enjoy.

I hope to see you in Atlanta in a few weeks. Take care.