A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT

A NOTE

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Greetings Colleagues

I was really looking forward to writing about my first year as President of NADR. But, as I reflect back, I’m only struck by, “Oh what a wonderful year it should/could have been.” We should still be talking about the outstanding Puerto Rico conference experiences and looking forward to our St. Petersburg Networking Weekend. But, alas none of that occurred. Our current Board was looking forward to celebrating the 20 years of immeasurable hard work performed by our predecessors to get us to this point. Those talented and dedicated folks handed over to us an organizational structure that had a firm financial foundation and a road map for success. We looked forward to a fun, relaxed year, highlighted by multiple opportunities to engage the membership to higher levels of participation and interaction. Instead, we’ve had some really fun virtual engagements and a lot of disappointment. Our celebrations were mostly robbed from us by Covid-19. I’m not comfortable in large gatherings but, I have always enjoyed NADR for the opportunity to share experiences and learn relevant information about our profession. And, I’ve greatly missed seeing and talking to each of you. For many years now, I’ve motivated myself to stay on task by planning future trips. It makes it difficult to stay on track when every planned event keeps getting pushed back.

Despite our woes, the legislative committee continues to work hard on many issues. The social media and education folks have worked overtime to collaborate and provide outstanding webinar content and even a virtual cocktail party and jam session. I urge each of you to participate in these virtual opportunities. They will make you think and maybe make you smile. And they will, for sure, brighten your day and your outlook. The Talklist Forum remains lively and the Facebook posts are informative.

The PAC initiatives have always been the most active when we gather together. Thus, our PAC group is working on new ways to get you attention. It’s really a no-brainer, set up an automatic monthly contribution to help us get a seat at the table with the legislators that make decisions regarding Social Security benefits.

Rest assured, that if you live long enough, you’ll face challenging times and situations. This current situation surely fits that bill. I’m sure things will return to ‘normal’ (…normal: a concept that occurs only in textbooks and dictionaries) or we will have a new concept of normal, before long. One of my mother’s favorite sayings was, “this too shall pass and something else will take its place.”

Please reward yourself with a pat on the back occasionally. The work we do is “essential” for a large number of people. And lastly, let’s start talking about getting together in Baltimore in March.

See you there, Greg Cates