In With The Old, And In With The New

In my first President’s Perspective column, I want to take the opportunity once again to congratulate Bob and Patty Ames for having an outstanding year. I also would like to thank Past Presidents Whip Seaman, Bob Thornton, Wally Brant, Dave Mahoney, Bill Higley and Jack Butler for escorting me down the aisle in San Francisco. I certainly have big shoes to fill.

My theme for this year of “Teamwork” certainly extends to our past presidents. We have aggressively emphasized the importance of the revived Young Executives Program, but it is so important that we do not forget GAWDA’s roots. Our past leadership has made GAWDA the great organization that it is today. In the coming year, we hope to build on that foundation while focusing on our great tradition. My intent with the title of this article is to let all of our membership know that input from both our “seasoned/experienced” members as well as our “young executives” is equally important. We have ambitious goals for the next year, so please let us know if we are straying off course.

GAWDA has a great team assembled to lead this organization going forward. I am confident that your board of directors, consultants, regional chairs, committee chairs and staff management are up to the task.

I want to share with you some of our goals for the next year. We are in the process of doing a self-evaluation of our board of directors, as well as implementing a five-year strategic plan, a summary of which you can read here. The progress has been excellent. The desired result is to have a board of directors that is fully informed and educated in all things GAWDA, and to show our membership that we are making good decisions on your behalf.

We are going to continue the regional meeting momentum that was started this past year. Our regional meeting attendance continues to rise, and we hope that with continued support from GAWDA headquarters as well as GAWDA leadership, those numbers will continue to increase in the coming years. We really believe that meetings on the regional level provide a great opportunity for our members to send personnel that do not normally attend the SMCs and annual meetings. Our goal is to provide meetings that have both great content and networking opportunities for all those who attend.

The Young Executives Program is off to a great start. Our numbers continue to increase, and I urge you to join or have your personnel sign up. The process is simple: Just log on to www.gawda.org and fill out the online application. We had two very successful events in San Francisco. The venue provided for great networking and educational opportunities. Our new Young Executives Committee Chair, Lloyd Robinson, promises to build on the momentum. He is working with his team to plan great events for the year ahead.

We will be introducing a new GAWDA training program to our membership in the near future. The program will be offered to our membership online. I believe that this new program will bring great value to members. Running a small business, I find that keeping current and consistent with training for my personnel is always a challenge. This program will allow me to train my people in a consistent and timely manner. Safety is a large part of our industry, and this program will enhance all of our safety programs.

The Spring Management Conferences and the Annual Convention have always provided our membership with great networking and educational opportunities. We hope to continue that tradition. We are pleased to announce that we will be returning to Chicago for our first SMC in March. Our second SMC will be in Miami in April, and our Annual Convention will be held at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas in September. A passport is required to travel to the Bahamas, so please plan accordingly. Your planning committees have been working diligently to ensure great meetings.

We look forward to our challenges for the next year. Again, please feel free to contact me or any of the GAWDA leadership with any input that you may have.