Funny thing, I often wondered what I would write in my last newsletter as Executive Director, Membership if and when that time came. What would be my starting analogy? Would it be funny? Would it be anecdotal? Would it even be relevant to what I wanted to say?

I had given this a lot of thought, and there were a few I thought would do nicely. Then my girlfriend, Pam, who works in the medical profession, sent me a little story that was too good to pass up.

Hospital regulations require a wheel chair for patients being discharged. So when a nurse found one elderly gentleman already dressed and sitting on the bed with a suitcase at his feet, she went to get one.

The gentleman insisted he didn't need any help to leave the hospital. But after a chat about rules being rules, he very reluctantly let her wheel him to the elevator.

 On the way down the nurse asked if his wife was meeting him.

'I don't know,' he said. 'She's still upstairs in the bathroom changing out of her hospital gown.'

Things aren’t always the way they seem. Sometimes that’s for the better, sometimes not. But we all have likely jumped to conclusions based on circumstantial observations to our own embarrassment.

As ADR practitioners, we are spotlighted more than we realize; and to others, our mistakes may seem a bit larger than life. Our clients are usually in distress and looking to us to help fix their problems. In those cases we’re pretty good at portraying our professional persona and handling ourselves with proper decorum.

But we’re equally in the spotlight when it is ‘we’ who are in dispute, or when we are overtired or grumpy, or when we take that phone call from an absolute cuckoo berry. 

How do we act when we want something and aren’t getting it? Are we as gracious when we are wrong as when we are right? Do we engage in gossip or hearsay?

To a greater or lesser degree we all falter now and then. We’re human. But as ADR professionals, we are under more scrutiny more often; and we may not realize it.

So my parting thought is that, as good as we are at being neutral third parties, we need to be equally good neutral first and second parties.  Simply stated, we have to be just as good at disputes when we’re in them. It ain’t easy; but that’s what we all need to strive for.  

Our  conference program is again outstanding. I have no hesitation in comparing the sessions to what we accomplished at last year.  It’s no secret I’m especially excited about having Lynn Cole as the plenary speaker. Lynn is the President of Mediators Beyond Borders.

I’ve had the opportunity to work as an international mediator. For me, there have been few things as humbling, as exciting, as wondrous and as nerve-racking. I won’t even waste words describing what I cannot adequately relate.

For those who dream of such opportunities, this will be your best chance. Aside from her presentation, she will be meeting with members of both the ADRIA and National Boards, and will be making herself available for a meet and greet with all who wish to talk to her. 

This will be the first formal Canadian sojourn for Mediators Beyond Borders.  The rest of the program is equally exciting; but I’m just plugging what I’m especially looking forward to.

There are fewer bells and whistles this year, and we’ve knocked the price down to almost half of what it was last year. We’re also having it on Thursday afternoon and evening through to Friday afternoon. That way we won’t run into your spring weekend time.  So we want to see you there!

It’s with joy and regret that we say good-bye to Duncan McGregor. For years Duncan has been the friendly voice of AAMS and ADRIA and most people’s first contact. Duncan is returning to his first love in agricultural health and safety. Although we are all sorry to see him go, it’s clear many exciting opportunities await, and we wish him all the best.

We also will be saying good-bye to Jill Lussier, who epitomizes the success of the internship program we initiated a couple of years ago. Jill has been as much a part of the office, and part of the organization as any of us. Her smiling face and very friendly voice will be missed by staff and ADRIA members alike.  

Finally, in leaving ADRIA and wishing the new Board, new staff and new Executive Director every success, I just can’t resist one more Star Trek analogy. It has been an honour serving as your Executive Director  of Membership.

1. The best way to travel is to boldly go where no one has gone before. This is true for vacations, for self-exploration, for life itself. If you want your days filled with adventure, laughter, love, learning and the occasional mind-meld, follow this route.
2. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few--or the one. Sometimes you must make great sacrifices for the greater good. And, like the Genesis device, it will all come back around.
3. Expressing your emotions is a healthy thing. Sure, McCoy seemed angry all the time when exclaiming, "Dammit, Jim! I'm a doctor not a mechanic/bricklayer/soothsayer," but he knew that by expressing his anger and frustration it wouldn't get the best of him and he could then perform at his peak capacity.
4. “When estimating how long a job will take, overestimate--and when you do better your captain will always be impressed.” That was the advice Scotty gave Jordy. LaForge.  Replace the word "captain" with "teacher" or "mom/dad" and you'll see what I mean. Sure, Mr. Scott might have been telling the truth--maybe it would take six hours to get the warp engines back online in the heat of the battle. Or maybe he was padding things so he looked good. Either way, when the engines did come back on line, everyone was happy. Don’t mislead; but don’t set yourself unrealistic goals, either.
5. Wearing red makes you a target. This is true of cars, dresses and, most especially, shirts. Red gets you noticed--which is good if you want to be noticed, bad if you don't want to end up vaporized.
6. Seeing red makes you an even bigger target. Notice how those who wanted revenge or lost their cool always got killed off? It didn’t matter if it was an alien or a crew member. Losing one’s temper was always someone’s downfall.
7. When you don't know what to say, pause. It will give you the time to figure it out. Or at the very least, you'll sound like you're being thoughtful. "But....Spock.....why?"
8. The most powerful force in the universe is friendship. It's more powerful than phasers, photon torpedoes, even more powerful than the force itself. With friends, you can accomplish any task, escape any perilous situation, defeat any enemy--and you get to laugh together when it's all over.