"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way." - A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

I suspect anyone who reads the opening lines of this classic probably feels that Dickens is talking about the present day, whenever their present day happens to occur. I read it in the 1970's and it seemed to apply at that time. Read it today and you may think there are similarities to 2011. We have bonuses on Wall Street again (the best of times for some) and another wave of foreclosures (the worst of times for many.) The iPad seems like it has the ability to open the door to "wisdom" yet people are spending more time playing and becoming addicted to games (the age of foolishness?) than reading Dickens.

Whether we are reading this on our iPads or on our desktops at our office, we should ask ourselves what kind of year we expect for 2011. Can it be a year filled with better times (if not the best) for us and our clients? Would a year when we make good decisions for our business and help our clients make good decisions be akin to a "season of light"?

Your Board of Directors would like to see your Chapter help you and your clients enjoy the best of times. For this reason, your Board of Directors met in December to develop a plan of action for 2011 and 2012. Our focus will be to implement a plan where we always consider how we can best serve you as well as the public. I will prepare a separate article summarizing our plans for this year and beyond so you may decide how you might wish to participate in this process. As we begin 2011, I wish all of you a year filled with wisdom and perhaps even a little foolishness, but a year that brings happiness to you and your family.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!