When I tried to think of a theme for this federation year. I knew I wanted our focus to be on kindness. Honestly, our world would be in a much better shape if everyone treated everyone kindly. We each have unique talents, interests, and so much to offer to each other. We can teach each other a great deal. I know I try to learn something new every day. In a world of uncertainty, one thing we can control is how we treat others. We should strive to live by the golden rule of treating others as one would wish to be treated. Let morals and ethics be our guide. We want to bring more members to BPW. We want to encourage women. If we treat each other respectfully, kindly, and fairly, and make our events fun and exciting, women will want to come! With that, I chose our theme "Kindness Matters One Small Act at a Time." I want to thank all of the women who have stepped up to help me on the board, volunteering countless hours to bring BPW into the future. We have some good ideas, and we just have to put on our creative thinking hats to bring those ideas into fruition. I would not be here without the significant assistance of Paulette Knazek. She has been my sounding board to run ideas off on and has answered so many questions for me. She has put a lot of the documentation in order for us. I cannot thank her enough. I also want to thank Charlon Dewberry. She explains the rules to me and helps me to understand the policies and procedures of our organization. These rules have been in place for a long time, but the rationale behand the rules is what is important. The "why" helps me to understand why we do what we do. I am grateful you have chosen me as your President. I am eager to learn and happy to serve all of you. Let's help each other this federation year and cheer each other on. Think like a girl scout . . . they spread kindness all over the place. I will leave you with the famous words from Jiminy Cricket from the 1940 Disney film Pinocchio "Always let your conscience be your guide." In loving kindness,