Dear ICES Members,

  

The time is flying by!  As you read this, your Board of Directors and your Representatives are preparing to head off to St. Charles for the annual Midyear meeting.  If there’s an issue you’d like to have discussed, contact your Rep right away!

 

By now, online registration for Convention in Orlando has been open for a few weeks.  I hope you’ve taken advantage of it and that you’re all set with your Convention registration, hotel room and travel plans.  If not, you might want take a few minutes now and get it done.  The longer you wait, the more the room block will fill up.   People who wait too long may find themselves looking for a hotel somewhere off the Disney property.  That’ll mean time spent traveling to and fro rather than seeing demonstrations or shopping on the vendor floor.

 

Don’t forget to send in your nominations for the Board of Directors and ICES Officers.  They’re due to Nominations and Elections chairman Gayle McMillan by March 15.

 

On a sad note, we’ve recently learned of the death of longtime ICES member Maxine Boyington.  Maxine was a friend to many and a friend to ICES.  Among her many contributions, her knowledge of the ICES elections process was a great asset to the Nominations and Elections committee for many years after her Board service was done.  She’ll be sorely missed.

 

As spring starts to break out and change the color of the landscape where you are, I hope you’re getting as excited as I am about the changes we’re about to see in ICES.  We’re all set to award the first certifications from the ICES Certification Program this summer, and the flexibility we’ll see from the Tiered Membership restructuring will benefit us all.  ICES just keeps getting better and better, and you ain’t seen nothing yet!

B. Keith Ryder
ICES President