Reflecting on the last fifteen years as your IMS Executive Vice President
Mike Abrams, Executive Vice President of the Iowa Medical Society
Elizabeth called it surreal, and I agree. Fifteen years ago, when Mary Ann and I secured her in her child safety seat for the eight-hour drive to Iowa from Indianapolis, she was a squirmy one-year-old. Two years after we arrived, Thomas came along and completed our family. Like Elizabeth, this is the only home he has ever known. On my first day of work, I had no gray hair and did not need reading glasses. Things change.
So it is, indeed, surreal that we would invite a realtor to invade our yard with one of those pesky "For Sale" signs and embark on a new adventure, but that is what we've decided to do.
When I started as the IMS CEO in November 1996, Eldon Huston (my predecessor) said "Mike, this society was founded in 1850 and you're the fourth CEO." Wow. There has not been a lot of turnover in this job, and as recently as five months ago, I certainly envisioned staying here until my retirement party in another fifteen years. But situations change, opportunities present themselves, and our life stories take occasional unexpected plot-twists.
In reflecting on the past fifteen years, there is virtually nothing I would change. Even things that did not go as planned ended up being important life lessons. I have always stressed the importance of the leadership partnership – the physicians, in partnership with professional staff, can make things happen. There is no doubt we have done that. I dare not start listing things we've accomplished that have mattered for you, but suffice it to say your professional organization is alive, awake, and energized. We've listened to you when you've expressed needs and frustrations, and we've responded with products, services, and advocacy activities that have been nationally acknowledged. As a result, we boast one of the most impressive membership penetrations of any state medical society in the nation. While some societies struggle to hang on to their membership base, we have set historic records the past two years in a row. Our membership has never been higher, our IMS never more relevant.
Iowa will always be a part of the fabric of our lives: Elizabeth learned to ski behind Mark Liaboe's and Gretchen Fuerste's boat; Thomas' hockey career started at the Des Moines Buccaneer's Arena. Mary Ann and I have made countless friends, and we will look forward to returning to Iowa to maintain those relationships.
Thank you to the members of the IMS staff, the physicians who invest in their profession by maintaining membership in IMS, and the many friends who have made Iowa such a difficult state for my family to leave. It will always be a home to us, and on behalf of Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Thomas and me, I thank you.
