Being asked to write editorial for the next newsletter after only 8 days on the job is intimidating, especially given that my greatest accomplishment since starting might be figuring out how to use the phone system! Understandably, my initial reaction was "what the heck can I talk about at this point?" Luckily, my first two weeks was spent on the phone speaking with CAFE board members and Chapter directors soliciting their perspectives on how we can move CAFE forward - hence my early success with the phone system.

Two recurring themes throughout these phone conversations are passion and optimism - passion for the mission of helping family businesses succeed, and optimism regarding the future growth potential of CAFE. All agreed that to grow the association we needed to work together to evolve and articulate the value proposition, work harder at raising awareness of the association, and most importantly, start delivering on the great ideas and initiatives that have been bandied about in recent years. 
 
For the next few weeks I will continue making calls as part of my "look, listen & learn" process. Most of all, I'm looking forward to meeting all of you in Vancouver to begin the process of turning our great ideas into reality. 
 

See you in Vancouver!