A Letter from the Past President, Tony Gonzalez

TAGITM, 

And then…it’s done.  Well, not really done.  But my time as President has come to an end.  What a fast year it was.  I had a blast.  As I said at the Conference, it was one of the highest professional honors I have had to serve as your President. I surprised myself and didn’t get all emotional at the end, but I want to express my deep gratitude to all of you who supported, shared kind words, etc.  It was an amazing year, and the last week was absolutely the cherry on top.  I had no idea how many individual people would come up and tell me what a great conference they were having, how much they enjoyed the many different events and opportunities to network, etc.  Heck, some of you even told me you enjoyed the way I led the org over the year and during the conference.  Your judgement might be a little suspect, but it meant the world to me!  I mean that. 

What happened last week took a big team and I was just the guy up front with the microphone a lot of the time.  All of our committees had a hand in pulling off that amazing conference, as well as the incredible team at CMP.  As President, I am a beneficiary of all their hard work.  It’s easy to look good up there when you have a hard-working team behind you that puts you in the right positions.  Sure, there were some things that probable didn’t go perfectly over the course of the week, but they were fairly minor and were handled quickly and efficiently.  That’s how a great time works and last week was proof of such. 

I am excited to see where Chris leads us this year.  This organization defines STRONG to me.  We are strong financially.  We are strong reputation and perception wise.  We are strong in membership.  We are strong in diversity.  We are strong in experience.  We are strong in partnerships.  We are strong in lots and lots of areas, and I believe we are only going to get stronger.  Leadership turnover always brings some changes, and typically those changes are a good thing.  It also brings new opportunity for you to be a part of the team that makes this organization keep being strong.  Dive in.  Take a seat on a Committee.  Share your ideas.  Stretch yourself a little.  It’s definitely worth it.  You all are what make the organization strong, so bring your A game and show us what you got. 

Thank you.  Thank you all very much for an incredible honor and year.  I am still around, and you know how to reach me.  TAGITM has a special place in my heart, and you all are the biggest part of that!

Tony Gonzalez,
Past President, TAGITM