Being President of ADA is a unique experience, to put it mildly. It is a major time demand, a major stress producer and probably one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. I agreed to run because I was under the illusion that this was a real opportunity to make a difference in the future of the dispensing audiologist. To some extent, I think we might have made some progress.

This was not, in my view, a position to be held or run by one person. It has clearly been a group effort, with close cooperation between the President, President-elect, Past President and the ADA board. This relationship is critical because of the need to delegate responsibility, and any real accomplishments we made during the past two years were a result of that relationship. Without a great board, and great management company, the President is 'hamstrung'. Considering our size and complexity of the issues, one person simply can't do it all.

Since things have been rather intense at times, we tried to plan "little things" to liven up our meetings. The first things to come to mind are the massages we provided for all board members (during the meeting) in Myrtle Beach and the mountain top board meeting in Salt Lake that culminated in a snow ball fight. As a group, we work hard AND play hard — a combination that works.

One of the most difficult parts of the job, for me, is keeping your mouth shut at the right time and keep a good sense of humor at all times. This has become somewhat easier for me as time has gone by, because I've been able to see more and more of the big picture. This is especially true toward the end of your term, when you are about to become past history! It can be very difficult to practice Audiology and be President at the same time. I'm enjoying the new "firebrand" board members who are just as on fire as I was (still am), and who are not afraid to let it show.

Important issues during my term were:

1. Converting the operation of ADA into a business. Making this conversion has allowed us to generate the funds to provide member services that are so important.
2. Audiology Awareness Campaign: we have made a major commitment to this program (pushing where we needed to) since this is vital to the future of Audiology.
3. The Au.D. has been a primary concern of mine during the past two years. Our goals have centered around keeping the different elements talking, and not reaching premature conclusions or positions before we have a detailed plan. Our role has also been to persuade the players to "maintain the high road" while pursuing the clearly stated wishes of our membership.
4. Hear Po and the Managed Care Manual. During this term, one of our biggest accomplishments was the formation of Hear Po and joint publication of the Managed Care Manual with AAA.
5. Directory: One of the projects I'm happiest about is the ADA Directory. We managed to create a useful referral tool for members all across the country, and more and more members are participating as time goes by.

There are other issues we have been involved in (ADA MasterCard, etc.) but these are the ones that stick out in my mind at this time. By the time convention rolls around, there will be several other new ADA developments that could have a profound effect on our members and the future of our profession. The board is hard at work as always.