As 2014 ends and 2015 looms ahead, I’m taking some time to reflect back on the past year. What went well? What didn’t? Have I acted in ways that are consistent with my values? What have I contributed? One thing is for certain; there are many people who have influenced my course, helped me to choose a path, and illuminated the way forward.
One person in particular, was instrumental in my choice to actually join NEMSMA. Skip Kirkwood, who rotates off of the board of directors, and ends his term as immediate past president, was that individual. I had been a fairly vocal contributor to the list server (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/nemsma ) and he asked me if I’d like to participate in a NEMSMA project, writing an EMS Leadership Agenda. He said there was one requirement; I had to actually be a NEMSMA member to be on the committee. So I joined. And, as they say, the rest is history.
As I begin my tenure as the President of NEMSMA I am also looking at NEMSMA’s accomplishments, our successes and our failures. NEMSMA has developed into a strong influential organization amongst the national EMS associations and we participate in and make significant contributions to the discussions that lead to national EMS practices and policies. We have invested time and money in these high level outward looking efforts. A more inward looking perspective has been a recent topic of conversation amongst the Board of Directors. How can we make NEMSMA more valuable for our members? We have also been discussing methods to stimulate member engagement and participation.
So you might ask, “What does NEMSMA’s future look like?” My plan is to work with the Board of Directors and the membership to answer this question. We need your help to ensure we understand your expectations and we need your participation to identify and achieve our goals. Together we can continue to improve and grow our association. I’m looking forward to making great progress in 2015.
Michael Touchstone
NEMSMA President