Hello Everyone,

The Joint Executive Board Retreat was held in Annapolis from June 6th through June 8th and as usual it was raucous, cordial, contentious, and collegial, but mostly enjoyable. I have passed the gavel to Sandy Brown and wish to congratulate Sandy on a well-run retreat. Please welcome and support Sandy as we embark on another year.

The 2004-2005 year will bring our 35th anniversary as an organization. For thirty-five years we have been endeavoring to improve the lot of all who work in our profession so this is a significant milestone. We should cheer ourselves and be optimistic for the future. Thirty five years ago our FAO fathers (sorry) and mothers started an association which would help us all cope with the demands of our profession not knowing whether Tri-State would survive to reach a 35th anniversary, but hoping it would. Well we did survive and even flourish and so we should congratulate ourselves, and those who came before us, for a job well done.

Together we can do so much more. The premise behind any association is that difficult jobs can be made easier if broken down into smaller pieces and handled by more people. With reauthorization and a presidential election looming it would be well to remember this concept. Our association tries to balance the concept held by many employers that an already difficult job should be made larger and handled by fewer people. Again, sorry.

To my 2003-2004 Executive Board members, Thank You for all that you have done during the past year. I am not easily impressed, but I have had occasion to be many times during the past year.

Respectfully,
Robert A. Foultz
2003-2004 Chair