Since the late 1990s, I’ve had the good fortune to serve as your executive director. I am sometimes asked if it’s difficult serving under a new president each year. My response: Not really. Perhaps that’s because I am flexible and have already worked with the president during his or her president-elect year, as well as potentially when that person served on an ACA committee or was active in a particular division, region or branch.

Whatever the reason, I routinely look forward to building a leadership partnership with the ACA president. Tackling the varied challenges and working in a strategic way is rewarding. However, it can also be bittersweet as we head toward the conclusion of the president’s term on June 30. This year will be no different as Don W. Locke completes his term as ACA’s 60th president.

I first met Don when he served as a leader in the mid-1980s. Don has been active in ACA through five different decades, and I have come to appreciate his ability to recall an issue from our past — because he was actually around when that history was being created! But I am especially impressed by what he said to me upon his being elected.

Don told me he had been part of ACA for five decades and had learned a great deal about the association during that time. And then, without skipping a beat, he said, “And I also have five decades of things to unlearn.” What a bold and progressive statement. I admired the foresight he possessed in recognizing that today’s ACA was in many ways a very different organization. It told me Don was going to be a president with an understanding of the past but also a willingness to embrace the “new” ACA.

As our program year closes, I am pleased by how much your leadership team has accomplished. But we owe a great deal of thanks to you, the members of ACA, for meeting one key goal — namely, our reaching the 50,000-member mark by the end of the fiscal year in June. Actually, the goal was accomplished in March! The world still grapples with an uncertain economic picture, but reaching our goal three months early is an indicator that members value the services, resources and professional advocacy that ACA provides.

In the coming year, ACA will do its best to save you time — whether you are a seasoned counselor or a new graduate looking for that first job — by making a concerted effort to help you find those resources that enhance your work. You have told us what you expect for the limited membership dollars you will spend in the coming year.

In early 2013, we will launch a totally new ACA website with many features, including improved search capabilities and a better way to connect with like-minded colleagues by creating community around various issues. You can also expect even more ways to earn continuing education credits from us without having to leave your office or home. In addition, ACA will better target what you want in hopes that we can reduce the number of emails, text messages and other communications that bombard each of us daily. We want to help you separate the useful from the not-so-useful. We will do our best to aggregate timely and relevant information for you through our enhanced ability to curate resources.

So, to all who served in addition to ACA President Don W. Locke this past year as volunteers at the Governing Council, committee, task force, region, division and branch levels, please accept our thanks for a job well done.

As always, I look forward to your comments, questions and thoughts. Feel free to contact me at 800.347.6647 ext. 231 or via email at ryep@counseling.org. You can also follow me on Twitter: @RichYep.

Be well.