It is such a cliché to note that time has passed so quickly, and here we are already at the end of another year. Yes, I will dive headfirst into that same statement! I want to take a minute to note some of what we have done this year, and what we have set up for the coming years.
With a bang, we started 2019 with the search for a new CEO. MANY thanks are given to the diligent CEO Search Task Force, our consultants, and our human resources outside counsel for a job exceedingly well done! The process culminated when Theresa Hatton accepted the position. To say this was a successful endeavor is an understatement, and underscores that we accomplished great things THIS year, with a very positive forward outlook into our future as an association.
After years of searching, our dedicated Building Task Force found us 18 Washington Street in Foxborough. The negotiations and all the details leading up to closing were, as we in the business know, part of a complicated process demanding attention to detail, timing, and skill. Under the watchful guidance of Chair George Raymond, we closed on our new headquarters. A new task force was formed to focus on the renovation, chaired by our Treasurer, Dawn Henry. This was another monumental undertaking, but as you read this we are well underway. Both of these task forces performed conscientiously with professionalism and dedication to our members. No results could be more tangible than when we open the doors for business in Foxborough! Please watch for a housewarming event in our near future to welcome all to MAR’S permanent home.
Our Strategic Planning Task Force combined the efforts of some of the most outstanding professionals across the Commonwealth to create our roadmap for the coming years. This group is remaining together as a Strategic Thinking Task Force as 2020 MAR President Kurt Thompson takes the gavel. Again, we used our great wealth of knowledge to prepare us well for our future.
Finally, throughout the year we have been blessed with the efforts of outstanding staff and MANY volunteers who came together to create and implement our programs and events, and to oversee MAR in every way. They unselfishly devoted time, miles, and energy to making this organization serve you, our members. The list of those involved is well over 100, and growing. We eagerly invite you to join our efforts in 2020. We need you.
Not one thing accomplished this year really started in 2019, nor will it end in 2019. Ideas spark, grow, are brought to fruition, and become something else over the course of many years. That is why it is critical to rely on the immense value of past presidents and leaders, while at the same time seek out and nurture future MAR volunteers and leaders. THAT continuity and teamwork is what makes MAR so very strong and so very special. I am immensely grateful for the mentoring and guidance with which I was blessed, the energy and promise of those just beginning MAR involvement, and every single MAR member in between. I am honored to have played my role in it this year, but I look forward to all the marvelous things in our future because of the people who make MAR. Job well done, everyone!