Bill Ellis just pointed out, and I agree with him, that there’s a real feeling of excitement in the air here at APhA headquarters.

Tomorrow, we’re hosting our building dedication ceremony. Folks here are sprucing up, and the caterers are loading in. Tropical Storm Ida can’t hold us down. Soon, we’ll have more than 400 remarkable supporters who helped us build the vision that John Gans and dozens of board members and leaders have had for almost 20 years. I’ll write more about the event after tomorrow, but right after the Dedication we move into a board meeting, so it may be a few days before I get to it. I’m sure there will be photos on pharmacist.com.

Thanks to Dr. Gans, all the staff, and our volunteer leaders for their hard work and dedication, and for putting up with all the detail-oriented people who had to make hard decisons about sometimes seemingly trivial things. When you stand back, and look at the entire picture, it is clear to me that sweating all the details was worth it. It’s time to stop for a day and celebrate!

I talk with other executives around town, and they all agree that this time of year is more intense than any other. I thought it would be fun to just share a glimpse at my last 30 days working on your behalf.

During this time, I’ve visited four school of pharmacy campuses, one state association meeting, two federal facilities, five senators’ offices, Institute of Medicine, the annual meeting of the Pharmacy Compounding Centers of America, 8 pharmacies, CMS to meet with the number 2 person there, the Joint Forces Pharmacy Seminar, several APhA client meetings, the NCPA meeting, the new Trustee orientation for those joining the board in March, and a West Virginia University football game against the University of Connecticut (well, maybe that one wasn’t on your behalf, but it was remarkable for the sportsmanship since it occurred just after UCONN lost one of its players to unnecessary violence).

I also participated in the Pharmacy Compounding Accrediation Board meeting, the Joint Council of Pharmacy Practitioners meeting, and an APhA Foundation board meeting. This weekend, I’ll finish it off with a Midyear Regional Meeting in New Brunswick, NJ.

Along the way, I figured out how to use Windows Live and webcams so I can help with my 14-year-old nephew’s homework face to face while I’m on the road.

Despite the hectic pace, I am more thankful than ever for the opportunity to serve this organization and its members. Thanks to all of you who shared your thoughts with me this month. I took a lot of notes.

APhA does a lot of things, including building coalitions, getting volunteers involved, and convening meetings under the big tent that is APhA. That’s all good, but a lot of our members, and frankly lots of pharmacists who aren’t members, don’t have time to get involved. For them, we need to get better at “convening” in a virtual sense, either on Facebook, this blog, or other channels that fit your needs at any particular moment.

So, this blog should not only inform, but also stimulate you and others to share thoughts, suggestions, observations, complaints or whatever. And, this should serve as a forum where any pharmacist can come and be heard.  There are lots of our members who are experts at things you would like to know more about, or who share your passion for a particular area of practice, industry or education. Maybe you are entrepreneurial and looking for ideas or someone who shares your interests. Connecting the knowledge with the question is what social media is supposed to facilitate — and what I’m trying to achieve here.

We have more than 2,000 people, most of them likely pharmacists, who follow this blog now. So, dive in and share your thoughts. Let’s see where it takes us!

APhA staff enjoys the potluck “lawn party” in the Pope building rotunda.

APhA has a tradition of celebrating the end of summer with a lawn party. Today, use of the lawn was rained out, but not the spirit of the staff, who had a great time sharing dishes and stories in our historic Pope building.  Thanks to all of them for the work they do every day on behalf of America’s pharmacists.

Many of you know that John Gans and I have an interesting past. In 1989, I was serving on staff at APhA when he was hired as the exec—thus, he became my boss. In 2001, after a few years on the Board of Trustees, I became APhA’s President, and thus I became his boss. During our 5-month transition as APhA’s outgoing and incoming CEOs, he could not have been a better friend or mentor to me as I prepared for my role. For that I will always be grateful. Over the years I have been the benefactor of his wisdom on numerous occasions, and maybe I was able to help him once or twice as well.

Now that the dust has settled a bit, I thought you might be interested to learn that Dr. Gans has been appointed Executive Director of Healthcare Leadership in Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. In addition to his role in the business school, he will serve USP’s College of Pharmacy as a professor of healthcare and pharmaceutical business and as a professor of pharmacy.

I know he and Eileen are glad to be home in Philadelphia, and I wish them health, happiness, and prosperity.

The view from our 6th floor terrace during the fireworks show

Today, I’m reflecting on the uncounted contributions made by the team of APhA staffers who have been pulling hard the last few months, and who on July 4th took a break.  It was great to see so many of them here to celebrate with their families and to connect those families with those of their co-workers.  I feel blessed to be part of their team.

APhA is observing the Independence Day holiday today, July 6th, and the offices are closed. We’ll be back in the office tomorrow.