This month's article is not written by Gary Clements, President of FICAP, but by Gary Clements, Papa to Lily, our wonderful 2 month old granddaughter.  If you Google words like perfect and beautiful you will probably see her picture. 

We at FICAP have had the privilege of having four very high-profile speakers address us over the past couple of months.  And while their individual opinions on the state of the economy differed to some extent, for the most part they all came to the same conclusion.  Indicators show that the economy is improving slowly but steadily, and although things are not going to be the bed of roses that we had hoped for, it certainly should not be the briar patch we have had to pick our way through for the past couple of years.  Most of us left the meetings with a sense that there is still much work to be done. I believe that to be true, we must continue to closely scrutinize our businesses and our plans, cultivate new customers, and nurture existing ones.

As I mentioned above, Lynn and I have entered the role of grandparenthood and think it is one of the most incredible things on earth.  As we held Lily for the 1^st time, we both quickly realized that certain things that had mattered suddenly didn't anymore.  As we operate our businesses during these difficult conditions it is easy for us to get consumed in the daily demands that are placed upon our time, and in dealing with issues that are completely out of our control.  We should all be reminded that managing our businesses is what we do, not who we are. Who we are is defined by our relationships. And the most important relationships are with our Creator, spouse, family and friends.  One day through myriad circumstances we will all be disconnected from the business world we live in everyday.  At that point what we will have left is our relationships.

It is important to our success to ensure that our businesses are as efficient as they can be.  It is paramount to our success to insure that our relationships with family and friends are as strong as they can be.  Both take a lot of work and both provide great benefits. "Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget." - anonymous

I look forward to seeing all of you at our dinner meeting on the 18^th.   ProMasonry is the subject.  Don't forget, you can now register online for our convention which is July 16 & 17 at the Sandpearl Resort in Clearwater.  You can make your room reservations now as well.  Be sure to tell them you are with FICAP to ensure the proper discounted room rates. 

See you at the Sandpearl... it is 5:00 right there.