Living in Colorado, I hike a lot in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. I chose as my theme for the year Face in the Right Direction and Keep Going, and as we set our sights on new heights the right direction means going up! The Haitian proverb “Beyond mountains there are mountains”* reminds us that when we have solved one problem, we don’t rest. We simply continue on to the next problem.

Because the journey does not end with one success, my first priority is to build on the important work that Heather Brown started last year by:

Goal 1: Pursuing ideas that support member engagement
Goal 2: Adopting committee assessment recommendations

My second priority is to consider adding a Strategic Area 7: The Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting is vital to the success of the rest of the Strategic Plan.

This year, we will aim to:

Goal 1: Consider a combined meeting in the meeting rotation
Goal 2: Appoint a long-term meeting advisor
Goal 3: Adopt revised annual meeting policies/procedures

Priority three is a focus on advocacy:

Goal 1: Assess the Advocacy Committee goals and responsibilities

Priority four is to adopt Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) values, policies and practices in every aspect of our organization – beyond mountains there are mountains. This year I hope to engage the membership in constructive conversations about how to keep our organization moving in the right direction by:

Goal 1: Adopting any needed revisions to the member policy statement
Goal 2: Adopting annual meeting statements and policies/procedures

To quote Paulo Coelho, “The way up to the top of the mountain is always longer than you think. Don’t fool yourself, the moment will arrive when what seemed so near is still very far. But since you were prepared to go beyond, this is not really a problem.” I look forward to a productive year as we set our sights high for MCMLA.

*From Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World. Tracy Kidder.