Bev Anderson Announces Retirement
Bev Anderson wrote this message for her column in the April 2010 newsletter. Find out how this affects the future of the NCCNA.
I’ve been considering the future of The Northern California Chapter of The Neuropathy Association and my own. People have asked, “What would we do if something happened to you and you couldn’t go on?” At the beginning of this year, I thought ahead to what needed to be done and felt quite tired and exhausted, which has not been the case as much until lately. I had my 74th birthday in November. Some while before, but especially lately, I notice my brain doesn’t hold as much and I don’t have the energy to keep going at the pace I have to go to keep everything running as well as it must. Pieces come that pass by me completely or I don’t remember things that I must. I am so far behind on things that must be done around my home and can’t seem to find time to do other than get farther behind. Many days are 8-12 hours or more on NCCNA business alone. I thought how much better it would be to transition to new leadership gradually rather than suddenly.
It came to me that I could retire. I turned in my resignation as President and administrator of the organization effective December 31, 2010. At first, I thought it might be that the organization would need to dissolve and The Neuropathy Association be responsible for our groups. This in spite of the great opportunity we have to grow and reach many more with neuropathy. The information we have about neuropathy is unique and more complete than many in the health care community have. Our NCCNA Board did not think we should dissolve. They said there is too much good that is going on that would be lost if NCCNA went away. We formulated a general plan and presented it to The Neuropathy Association. We are now working on the specifics. It will take time to develop, but I hope the plan is in operation by the end of the year. It will take a lot of support, both volunteer and financial, to continue growing to the point of self-sufficiency.
I expect to see a transition to a having at least a part-time paid staff member and many more people involved in the organization. However, I don’t plan to totally go away. I want to continue involvement with support groups and helping in ways that don’t involve administration of the organization. One of my dreams is for support groups to find at least one other support group in their area with which to partner and encourage. It would be especially wonderful if people in one group or in their partnership with another group would team together to start a group where one is needed but no leadership presently exists. It could be their project. I or anyone else can’t do it all, but together we can do much. People who live in the area are the most effective in growing a group.
We will be talking about all of this at the Mini-Conference and Annual Meeting on April 21 in Woodland. I hope at least one person from each group will be able to come. We should be farther along in the planning process by then. If you want to see NCCNA continue, it is critical that a sizable group of members and others are present at this gathering.