A Look at the Year
By Terry C. Brown, PT, DPT
As I write this column, it has been nine months since being elected president of the Private Practice Section (PPS). It has been quite an interesting journey—a road with curves and hills yet tremendous scenery. What stands out to me are the people that I have had the opportunity with which to work. Their level of commitment, work ethic, and intelligence are remarkable and continue to impress me as we navigate our unknown future.
During a time of uncertainty when our executive director resigned, Danielle Mathis Openshaw, Cynthia Perez, and Pam Owens absorbed the blow and continued the volume of work in the PPS office in such a way that most of you never knew there was an absence. They deserve our praise and thanks for their efforts and continued work to move the Section forward. We now have the addition of Allyson Pahmer, our new executive director, and she has arrived with a smile and a focus to learn and to serve PPS, helping us attain our goals. Each of these individuals has made my trip much easier.
I want to also recognize my fellow board members. These individuals—elected by you—are an amazing group from various backgrounds with a mutual focus: to improve private practice. What a pleasure it has been to work with this dedicated, diverse, and outspoken group. There is never a drought of thoughts or opinions and always a commitment to do what is best for the majority of PPS. We will be saying goodbye to several members at our November elections. Please seek them out and thank them for their service.
The workhorses of the section are our committees. Our remarkable committee chairs and their members take the strategic plan objectives from the board and develop action plans to achieve the objective. The committees are made up of members just like each of you who give of their time and talents to deepen the pool of creativity and ideas so that the board has a diverse and well-conceived action plan to address the success of the strategic plan. We could not be effective without their ongoing input. This is where most members become involved in the governance of our section and where many future leaders are born.
The SWAT team of the section is our task forces. These are appointed groups of individuals brought together for a defined purpose and time. We have utilized this process to bring together content area experts to give direction to the board or a committee regarding a specific question. Many of you have received “the call” from me to serve in this manner and have graciously offered your service. I am grateful as your work makes our section stronger.
It truly takes a village to make PPS work for all of us. I urge each of you to become involved. The road ahead has many bumps and maybe a detour or two, but with the dedication and help of each member, we can and will navigate PPS to lead our businesses to thrive that we may continue to provide quality care to our patients.
Thanks to each of you for being a member.
