MADA Office Memo: Changes Ahead

Bill Anderson

The changes that lie ahead for the Association during the next year bring to mind Alvin Toffler's popular book from the early seventies, Future Shock. Toffler contended that change was accelerating at ever increasing speed in all parts of our lives-at home, in the office, in technology and in society. He felt the ability to cope with these ever increasing, ever faster changes was the most important task ahead for us. He also asserted that those who coped best would be those who took advantage of the changes, and thus would benefit from them.

I'm not referring here to the changes that will be brought by Pink, Purple or Taligent. I'm referring to changes planned within the Association during the next several months.

TIME TO MOVE ON

After four years with the Association, two as Association Manager, I've submitted my resignation to the Board. I will be leaving at the end of my present contract next July, perhaps sooner. It was not an easy decision, but it is the right decision for me. I want to direct my talents and energy into new areas of interest-and that's an exciting prospect to me.

I will miss the Association and the many friends I've made during my tenure. It has been an interesting time; sometimes exhilarating, sometimes frustrating. We've grown dramatically in membership, in services and in programs offered. Along the way, we've manuevered through some very difficult times, but have emerged as a solid and respected organization. I feel good about the position of this Association as I step down.

Chuck Sohnly, who has worked as Member Services Assistant in the office for two years, will be leaving next summer as well, to begin his retirement. It is Chuck who has handled accounts payable and receivable, processed your membership applications, and fulfilled product orders.

CHANGES

With the departure of Chuck and myself, the Association will be hiring new staff next year. Also high on the priority list is a relocation of the office from Everett, Washington to the Bay Area in California. I believe the latter is extremely important for the future of the Association. It should substantially improve communications between the Association and Apple, as well as others in the PC community. Silicon Valley is where the action is-and MADA's offices ought to be there.

Also on the agenda for change is the probable expansion of the Association's charter to include other object programming frameworks in addition to MacApp. The Charter Committee will be presenting a recommendation to the Board on this matter about the same time as this issue of FrameWorks goes to press. New programs and services are sure to follow.

The Orlando '92 conference is scheduled for February, and should be our most successful conference yet. This is our third annual conference, so what's the change here? Well, plans are also underway to sponsor our first European conference, probably in cooperation with Apple Germany next fall.

Changes: Advantage and benefit

No doubt about it, the changes ahead for the Association are numerous. Perhaps even daunting. I firmly believe, however, that these changes will be made successfully, with little if any interruption to service. In the end, MADA will be even better and stronger than it is today, and you-as a member of the Association-will find your membership to be even more valuable. The key is to not only cope, but to cope in such a way that we take advantage of the changes to benefit our future. And that we shall do.