As incoming president, I want to thank Sharon for her extraordinary service to AALNC, including being willing to serve an unprecedented second year as president so I could spend a year in the president-elect role, “learning the ropes.”

 I also want to thank our outgoing board members Marianne Hallas and Karen Huff, who both served consecutive terms on ALNCCB and then AALNC’s board of directors, for a combined service of more than 20 years in board roles! Fortunately for us, they have both agreed to remain involved in several AALNC initiatives.

 It is my first hand observation since coming on the board in 2010 that our association has thrived under both Karen and Sharon’s leadership, along with a cohesive, hardworking and dynamic board of directors, and very effective management company.

 As Sharon mentioned in her final blog, our annual forum in Chicago was a great success.  We will be analyzing all the feedback we receive in the coming weeks to make future forums even better, so for those of you who attended the forum, please take the time to submit your evaluations forms.

 Many thanks to the Chicago chapter who hosted this year’s forum. Their president, Dina Morgan, and many of the chapter members worked very hard this past year with our forum committee to plan several aspects of this event and of course, made special efforts to attend the forum and man the host chapter table during the forum. We greatly appreciate your efforts.

 Finally, a special thanks to the multiple former AALNC presidents who attended and/or spoke at the forum. Your continued involvement in AALNC is deeply appreciated and I think, demonstrates your ongoing commitment to AALNC and our specialty practice!

 Over the next few weeks, I plan to use this blog to share with you a bit of detail regarding AALNC’s strategic plan and our priorities this next year.

  I look forward to working with the board and our members this next year, and beyond.

 All for now.

 Beth (elzorn@faraci.com)