New beginnings

Submitted by Andrea Hickey, ASCLS Staff

From the opening keynote with Dr. Walter "Sunny" Dzik explaining the laboratory's response to the Boston Marathon Bombing to the installation of our new President Susie Zanto, I don't think there was a single attendee that wouldn't agree that the 2014 ASCLS annual Meeting in Chicago was fantastic!

The annual meeting is sort of bittersweet for many people in leadership roles in ASCLS and ASCLS Constituent Societies.  It serves as the turning point for many as they leave one role and transition into another.  For President JR Constance, he was welcomed back by his Colorado contingency as he transitions to his role as ASCLS Past President.

Threre are many society presidents who do the same.  At the 2012 meeting in Los Angeles, I was at the end of my tenure as Michigan Past President and ready to settle into a less demanding role.  In Michigan, it is the Past President's job to plan the state meeting. At that time I transitioned into my favorite role, which is mentor.

You see, everyone should take a turn, do their part, and keep the state and regional grassroots efforts going strong.  As that happens though, the rest of us need to stick around and mentor those that follow. Douglas Adams once said 'I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be'.  I think this is so true for many of us. I know personally, I am exactly where I need to be.