The Last Hoorah! - H. Stephen Bailey, Ph.D., MRFC®

From the Trustee Chair H. Stephen Bailey, Ph.D., MRFC®

The LAST Hoorah!

It’s time to wrap up my time with the IARFC. Throughout the past 6 years, I have worked diligently as your CEO and Trustee Chair. When I first took the leadership position in the Association, I experienced a lot of sleepless nights, ruminating over hard decisions. These included upsetting the status quo by letting long-time employees go, and then stepping back to let people who knew their stuff, take over.

Internally I lobbied to improve the working atmosphere: upgrade locations, add benefits, and most importantly, create a family environment from which people could thrive and not just put in time. We navigated moves, infrastructure changes, employee benefit perks, and even COVID where we all had to adapt to a remote setting. I am most proud of how our team just rolled with the punches.

Association-wise my time was spent in organizational changes that cut through every part of our operations. There were redefinitions of “how we used to do it”, leadership challenges in all chapters, and a concentrated effort to improve the visibility of the Mission of the IARFC. It has been a long journey of figuring out just what was the IARFC and where we were headed.

The main goal of increasing the number of members has yet to be realized to my satisfaction, but I feel the pieces are in place to support and sustain a significant increase. I complement those who have worked hard in following my sometimes out-of-the-box suggestions.

First the Boards (Trustee, Chapters and MRFC®) The people who have stepped up in leadership roles have shown promise. In short, they care. I may have been challenging at times, but they all seem vested in bettering the IARFC. My hope is that they will be infused even further by the new leadership coming and will continue to bring positive solutions to the table.

Our International Chapters The Philippines were the big surprise. They recognized that there was an opportunity for a chapter rebirth and now communicate consistently with the Home Office. Covid restrictions stayed around a lot longer for them, but they are getting back to normal. Greater China, always a leader in our international community, has continued their support and sets a high bar of professionalism through their leaders. Hong Kong and Macau will be coming out with exciting news here shortly.

Our Home Team I have never worked with a better group of individuals. I frustrated them at times, I know, but they pushed back and made me defend my position consistently. It was great to have dynamic people on which to bounce ideas. Most of all, they gave a damn. I will miss them.

For the Future As I wind up my time with the Association, I am particularly pleased that Barry Dayley, MRFC® of Money Concepts will be stepping up as Trustee Chair. He is an excellent person for the position. With his organizational background, his passion for the IARFC, and his proven high standards for achievement, he will continue to set the bar high for the entities that lead the membership. I have gotten us to where we are walking, he will set the pace running!

It has been my honor to serve with all these groups of talented, delightful people. I will be watching and applauding every success that is sure to come in the future.

H. Stephen Bailey, Ph.D., MRFC® Contact: (704) 563-6844 chairman@iarfc.org www.iarfc.org