As I begin my tour of duty as your Captain, I want to thank all of you, my friends—who I consider family—for believing in me and allowing me to serve you as International Chairman.

    Ordinarily, one would think, the Captain or Chairman is totally in charge. But it became clear after the fabulous Los Angeles convention that the power of this organization comes from the people. The International District Governors and Deputies proactively met outside of the scheduled events to discuss the future of the association, including the possible name change and structure. I’m just amazed at their tenacity and dedication to keep moving this association forward. They even put their intentions in writing by submitting a letter of commitment at the Board Meeting. Special thanks to 2nd District Governor Eric Olsen for organizing the meetings.

    The convention was a great success due to the great organizational skills and hard work of many Craftsmen, including Lesley Addy, Los Angeles President Jim LoCoco, Governor Richard Jones, Bill and Susan Leahy, Bob Donahue, Don Lynn, Doug Haines, Mike Patterson, Melisa McNiece, and Michelle Stevens, among many others. Everything was great—the hotel, marketing sessions, club management sessions, meetings, tech sessions, parties, tours, and hospitality. Special thanks to all the sponsors and speakers, too!

    The real heroes of the convention were the DELEGATES. They had to discern and debate several proposed Constitution and By-Law changes. They listened to each other, stayed open-minded, considered options, and voted their conscience for the best interest of the association. We owe a huge thanks to Parliamentarian Jeanann Georgianna for skillfully managing the confusing process of following Roberts Rule of Order with our unusual circumstances.

    I hope each MEMBER of the association will join me in making this next year a success—in fact, I want to make that a CHALLENGE. We need the input of each and every member so that the Executive Officers, Governors, Deputies, Committee Chairs and Club Officers can do their jobs. It is YOUR association. We need YOU to participate.

    For those that missed the convention, here is the speech I gave at the closing ceremonies. It will give you more insight into my plans for the year. Enjoy.

INAUGURAL SPEECH

    My theme for this next year is Navigating for Success. Most of you know that I love the water and live in a houseboat on the Little Miami River in Cincinnati. It’s called the “Orrzone.” To get there, you go past the Twilight Zone… and take a hard left. For the most part, it sits docked at the marina, but on those occasions when my daughter sweet talks me into taking her and her friends out on the river, there are several things I need to do before we cruise. I check the engines, the gas and oil levels, the weather, and then chart the course.

    Our journey to success with this association needs the same preparation. With the momentum of this convention, we have our engines running. The board of governors has checked its resources and is committed to proceeding full steam ahead. The weather is stormy with the changing economy, but with a strong team on board, we can buck the head winds and follow the current. Finally, we have started charting our course by assessing who we are and where we want to go from a Marketing standpoint.

    And just like a seaworthy crew, I am not the lone sailor. There are those that have gone before me, including the Past International Presidents and Past International Chairmen, those that are sailing with me—my fellow executives Howard, Norm and John, the Board of Governors and Committee Chairs, and those that will follow me, including the delegates present here tonight. Together we will get safely to our destination of success, as long as we do not let our engines stall or surrender to bad weather.
At this time, I’d like to introduce the team of committee chairs that will assist me in serving you on this year’s success journey: Advisory Tony Sarubbi, Club Bulletins Dennis Gongwer, 

    CraftNet Dan Lane, Gallery Co-Chairs Kathy Schoenick and Chris Schneider, International Printing Week John Leininger, Parliamentarian Jeanann Georgianna, Membership Sue Schmidt, and Organization & Leadership Bill Price.

    I would also like to welcome the new Governors: Dennis Kuenzi (3rd District), Cheryl Adams (my home district, the 5th), Fran Pagel (6th District), Tim Vinson (7th District) and Blair Dreyfus (11th District).

    There are a few other people I would like to thank for helping me get to this position and being the support I will need for this next year and beyond.

    Norma Wirt, from the Greater Lexington Club, as many of you know, is a very passionate Craftsman—and my first love. I’m really sorry she couldn’t be here tonight. I would have liked to have her pin me since she is the one who introduced me to the association.
Ray Rafalowski, the Polish Prince and my predecessor as International Chairman, is a colleague, a friend, and truly a brother. I have learned a lot from him over the years.

    Tony Sarubbi was the man in charge when I was first a governor. He can really be a pain in my butt but I love him, respect him, and am honored to have him as my advisor for the next year.

    Sue Schmidt is my editor, speech coach, travel agent, sounding board, devil’s advocate and best friend. This year will be a lot easier with her help.

    And what can I say about Lesley Addy and Kevin Keane. These two work harder for the association than all of us put together. You may think, “Well, they are supposed to. We pay them.” Y’all have no idea!

    Lesley and Kevin are not merely paid staff. They are both dues paying members of the Central Minnesota Club that work 60+ hours per week and give their all to the IAPHC. 

    I’d like to ask all of you to raise your glass in a toast, honoring their devotion to our little group. Kevin and Lesley, we are not worthy of your commitment to us, but we most certainly appreciate it. You are family and we love you. 

    And family is what it is all about. We may work hard, play hard, fight hard, but at the end of the day, we really do love each other. I may get flustered from time to time at the microphone or in a four hour C&BL committee meeting but my heart is in the right place. I’m just a good old boy from Kentucky trying to do the right thing. I am a good listener and enjoy working to bring everyone to compromise, for the success of our association. We are family, after all.