Thanks for the Memories!

With my time as Atlanta Chapter President coming to a close, I was recently asked what I had learned from my tenure. I thought that was interesting since the usual questions are "How has it been" or "Are you glad it's over." My response to those questions are Great and Yes, but with mixed feelings. Stopping to think about what I've learned is a little more involved given the breadth of experiences with IFMA over the past couple of years. And while I learned some things, there are a number of positive things about IFMA that were either confirmed or reaffirmed to me.

Boiling it down to a few points, I would list these items as things to know about the Atlanta chapter:

Professional membership of highly experienced and knowledgeable people.

An organization that is well structured, and at the same time flexible to change in order to meet its member's needs.

Fun loving group that has developed a special camaraderie.

A chapter with a history of excellence, that continues to improve and develop the FM profession.

Generally speaking it's a group that could use some dance lessons (myself included), but is always looking for an opportunity to dance and celebrate.

Of course there is much more to this chapter, and I would encourage those that are new to it to get involved, and learn these things first hand. You only get what you give.

Some parting praises to the executive officers this past year for their hard work, Andrea, Fran and Chris, and to the whole board for overseeing the efforts of their committees. They came, they saw, they IFMA'd.

Thanks to Bob Thomas and the wonderful group at Association Headquarters. They make us all better with the work they do behind the scenes.

Thanks to you the membership for allowing me the honor of representing this chapter. It has been a wonderful experience, and I've greatly appreciated the support and encouragement along the way.

In closing I'll leave you with the words of Groucho Marx.

"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing.

If you can fake that, you've got it made."

Chapter President

Stewart Smith

st.smith64@comcast.net