President’s Message — May / June 2020

Perry Thomas, NALMS President

As the 2020 summer solstice passes, NALMS is responding to new challenges, while keeping an eye on the organization’s bottom line. So far, so good, thanks to teamwork by our staff, conference host committees, board, and larger membership.

The Minnesota Host Committee, co-chaired by Anne Wilkinson, Joe Bischoff, and Nancy Schuldt, navigated shifting winds of pandemic precautions during the spring and ultimately decided to postpone their face-to-face NALMS Symposium until 2022. Conference Committee co-chairs Dendy Lofton and Chris Doyle researched online platforms and developed a draft schedule for a virtual conference.

Meanwhile, Lisa Borre, Liz Favot, Mark Rosenkranz, and Sarah Burnet collaborated with Alyssa Anderson in creating a webpage titled “Our Commitment to Diversity” and writing the “NALMS Statement on Racism and Equality.” Student member Keiko Wilkins joined with Lisa, Liz, Mark, Sarah, and me to form a new Diversity Task Force. We welcome additional members.

Philip Forsberg, Director of Programs & Operations, and Alyssa Anderson, Director of Marketing & Membership, continue to work from their homes, but their work plans change weekly as they support the changes described above. Both deserve extra kudos for their flexibility and initiative during these challenging times.

This year, as we celebrate our 40th anniversary, we invite members to contribute $40 toward lowing the Secchi disk.

Finally, many members have renewed memberships and contributed toward our 40 for 40 Campaign. Thank you! If you’ve not yet done so, I hope you will.