From the Editor

Beverly Waldron

Season's greetings! Hard to believe that another year has come and almost gone and that this is the final ACN for 1997. Time sure flies when you are having fun...

Please don't misunderstand my comment about time flying when you are having fun. Frankly, at times I have meant it both ways -- the sarcastic way with the sardonic emphasis on "fun" and the sincere way with regret for how quickly time seems to pass when you are enjoying yourself. At times trying to get an issue of the ACN together can be frustrating, aggravating, and annoying. That being the case, you may wonder why anyone would sign on for a second year, much less a third year. The answer is easy. For all the aggravations there are some rewards: the sense of accomplishment (and relief) when the envelope is sealed and the next issue of the ACN is on its way to Marianne Ernesto and Daglyn Padilla at IPMA, the comments & compliments from you and other readers, and the opportunity to work with some very nice and talented people.

I'd like to use a small amount of space to thank those individuals who helped make this such an enjoyable year and whose generous contributions of time and talent not only made the ACN possible, but made it worth reading.

First our four Associate Editors, Mike Aamodt, Jeff Feuquay, Ilene Gast, and Dèonda Scott.

Mike Aamodt is completing his second year as Associate Editor for Technical Affairs. Besides answering questions posed by the readers, he has provided several articles providing insight into technical areas of our field and he has taken on the role of providing a bit of levity for each issue. Given the positive contribution he has made to the ACN, I am sure that you are as pleased as I am that in addition to serving on IPMAAC's Board of Directors, Mike has agreed to continue as our technical affairs and humor editor for another year. Thank you Mike!

Jeff Feuquay is also completing his second year as one of our associated editors - handling Legal Affairs. Jeff's providing of columns highlighting legal issues in assessment and personnel are appreciated by all. This coming year Jeff moves from the role of President-elect of IPMAAC to President and will be responsible for providing a President's message for each issue. But don't worry, you have Jeff's and my commitment that reports on legal issues will continue to appear in future issues. Thank you Jeff!

Ilene Gast has been the Associate Editor for the Practice Exchange for about ten years. Each issue she provides us with articles on assessment project being undertaken by various organizations. These articles keeps us up on what others are doing and may provide us with ideas that can be incorporated into our won organizations. It is with great pleasure that I announce that Ilene has also agreed to continue for another year. Thank you Ilene!

Dèonda Scott took over as the associate editor responsible for Council News and the calendar. I'm sure that you'll agree that she did an excellent job of gathering and reporting information on local and regional associations and their happenings including putting together the calendar of national, regional, and local events. In addition to serving as the co-coordinator for the marketing committee in the coming year, Dèonda will continue her great work with council news and the calendar. Thank you Dèonda!

In addition to our four associate editors, we have three gentlemen who have made generous contributions to each ACN issue and I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation for their work.

As President of the organization, Paul Kaiser provided us with an article for each issue which kept us all informed of what was and is going on in the organization. His reports on the IPMAAC happenings and the Board of Directors' activities are much appreciated by all our members. Thank you Paul!

Clyde Lindley continues to serve IPMAAC and the ACN in many ways. The bimonthly contributions of Clyde's Corner are most welcome. His "Quotable Quotes" and articles are frequently complimented by our readers and I'm sure you will all be happy to know that Clyde will continue his contributions to issue each in the coming year. Thank you Clyde!

For the last two years Chuck Schultz has provided us with a statistic tip and an enigma for each issue. We have all enjoyed his insights on the practical and the sometimes mysterious field of statistics. It is with regret that I announce that this issue contains our last installment of Statistics: Tips & Enigmas. While I mourn its loss, I am happy to let you know that Chuck has agreed to continue as a regular contributor on other issues. Thank you Chuck!

Doris Maye serves as IPMAAC's Representative to the IPMA Executive Board and graciously provides us with reports on the Board's meetings and activities. Her work on the Executive Board on IPMAAC's behalf and her reports are much appreciated. Thank you Doris!

Thanks also go to all of you who submitted articles for inclusion in the ACN. Your willingness to share you work and thoughts with your colleagues is wonderful. Thank you!

Two others deserve special notice and appreciation -- Marianne Ernesto and Daglyn Padilla. Marianne serves as our coordinator with IPMA and takes all the bits and pieces and makes it happen. Without her assistance there would be no ACN. My gratitude to her is both on behalf of the readers and personal. Thank you, thank you! Daglyn is the Administrative Assistant for Assessment Services and she is the one who actually puts the ACN in final format. Even though she is invisible to our readers without her able assistance putting the ACN together would be much more difficult and definitely less pleasant. Thank you Daglyn!

I would also like to publicly thank Bill Waldron for putting the ACN on IPMAAC Online! Having the ACN available on the web in a searchable format is really great! Thanks Bill!

We all try to put together a newsletter that is both informative and enjoyable for you to read. I hope that you have found it be so.

Wishing you a warm and joyous holiday season and the brightest of new years. As always, I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.