Time For Me to Fly

By Ed Yoder, MBA, MHA, RT(R), CRA, FAHRA

Time flies when you are having fun, and here we are in August, on the eve of another family reunion (AHRA Annual Meeting). For me as your President, things are coming to a close. It has been an absolute honor to serve you as your President this past year. I am truly humbled by the confidence you placed in me by electing me to this very important position, and I have enjoyed guiding the organization. There is a lot of work to do and I have things prepared to hand off to David Fox. He has been well-schooled as President-Elect and is ready to take over.  I will still be keeping a pulse on the things the board has been working on in my new role as Past-President! We are closing in on our benchmarking project, we are kicking off our first Lean Six Sigma workshop at the Annual Meeting in DC, our advocacy committee is in full gear and keeping a pulse on things happening in DC, e-Ordering has our involvement and attention as an organization, and we adjusted our strategic plan to include the changes the imaging world has seen. It has been a busy year!

Scott Cummins is our annual meeting design team chair, and he has done a great job getting us across the Potomac to the Gaylord. He and his team have put together a great show. The keynote speakers are fantastic, starting with Lt. Col. (ret.) Rob ‘Waldo’ Waldman, also known as “The Wingman.” Waldman is a leadership speaker and author of the New York Times and Wall Street best seller Never Fly Solo. You will learn how to build trusting, revenue producing relationships with employees, partners, and customers. Mark Mayfield is known as the corporate comedian and has merged his corporate background as a lobbyist and as a comedy nightclub performer to create an extremely unique and funny presentation style. Mark states, “say it with humor and people will take the message home!” Sounds hilarious! And finally, we have Bill Magee, who founded Operation Smile with his wife Kathleen. Operation Smile is a worldwide children’s charity with a global network of volunteers dedicated to helping improve the lives of children and young adults. And of course do not forget the theme party on Wednesday night; this 1940’s themed bash is guaranteed to be one you won’t soon forget!

Remember you can find the “Justification Toolkit” on our website if you still need some help showing your organization the benefits of attending the Annual Meeting. There is a letter you can give to your Vice-President or manager with an explanation of the education you will receive and an ROI on the benefits of your attendance. We also have a conference report that will help you organize the education you received so you can share it with those who did not attend.

Well, I see my horse is here and I need to saddle up and ride off….but before I do, as always, I will leave you with a musical thought. I began thinking as my term winds down, what would be my exit song? There are many: “Happy Trails” by Van Halen, “Goodbye” by Night Ranger, “Goodbye to You” by Scandal, “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac (I love the guitars and driving drums in this song!), but I have to go with “Time For Me To Fly” by REO Speedwagon. “Time For Me to Fly” was a single from “You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can’t Tuna A Fish.” This album also had another great single “Roll With The Changes,” a true rock anthem song as well. So I’ll place the vinyl on the turn table, select side one, song two, turn it up to ten, grab my acoustic and sing and play as I ride into the sunset. Thanks for letting me serve, my friends, it has been and honor and a pleasure, may you all forever….rock on!

Ed Yoder, MBA, MHA, RT(R), CRA, FAHRA is president of the 2013-2014 AHRA Board of Directors. He is the director of imaging services at Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia, SC and can be reached at ewyoder@lexhealth.org.