On July 17, while perusing my Instagram feed, I received pics of Mickey and Minnie Mouse helping to celebrate the 64th birthday of Disneyland. This made me think of many memories of visiting this happy place, and the anticipation of our upcoming Anaheim Conference. It also made me reflect on the real fun in helping our President Elect Steve Heide, and the 2020 Host Committee, plan our annual conference. Steve always has a great warm-up exercise that is Disney related, whether it be, what is your favorite ride, your favorite land, or favorite Disney character. Even with the recent opening of the new Star Wars themed land Galaxy’s Edge, we got to learn who amongst the group leaned toward the Jedi path or considered themselves Trekkies.

Being originally from Southern California, Disneyland has been a part of my life since I was a child with pictures showing me there as young as 3 or 4. And being of a certain age, I remember the ticket booklets with A – E tickets, that depending on the ride, required us to purchase extra tickets for the “good” rides. As a child – that may have meant I was content with the C tickets in Fantasyland. But, as I grew up, it was the anticipation of getting that coveted E ticket so we could go on the more thrilling, premier rides.

But nothing was equal to the anticipation getting off of the 5 freeway, seeing the Matterhorn looming (even before I was eligible to ride), and knowing that as we turned on Harbor Blvd. there was a full day of fun coming. While our conference is focused on education and networking opportunities, it certainly is an added bonus to once again have the anticipation of visiting these two iconic and popular theme parks. Insider secret, for those that don’t know, my favorite Disney characters are Pluto and Thumper. For an even deeper secret, Thumper was a nickname my father gave me as a child. I guess I tapped my foot quite a bit, much like the popular character from Bambi.

Now for some CSMFO anticipation. In mid-August, the Nominating Committee will convene to discuss CSMFO members who can lead our organization into the future. The official slate will be decided by mid-September, you will see a ballot in your e-mail inbox around September 30th with ballots due by October 31st (and that is no trick). This year’s slate will include President Elect for Northern California. It will also include two Board Members, one from Northern California and one from Southern California. Each Board Member term is for three years and it is a wonderful opportunity to continue in a leadership role or give back to CSMFO.

Now, I have heard that only a small number of you vote each year and that some don’t vote because they don’t know who is on the ballot. I hear you. And that is one reason why we are really emphasizing candidates to enter more on their Candidate’s Statement and why we will share more broadly these statements (including within the CSMFO News). Our goal is to provide you every opportunity to learn a little bit more about each person and their involvement with CSMFO. One could say for any election – we don’t know which candidate is right. But the right to vote is important – and your vote matters to all of us!
So, just as CSMFO has talked about succession planning for years now, please help us locally and think about who you know that could become more involved in CSMFO and direct them to a CSMFO leader or to our volunteer interest form.

There are so many options to be part of your local chapter, to serve on any one of CSMFO diverse committees, or to be considered as a Vice Chair or maybe Chair of a Committee or Chapter. Probably the greatest way is to get involved leading your local CSMFO Chapter either as the Chair or Vice Chair (there have been more Vice Chairs introduced, as you may have noticed in your CSMFO directory). This helps with the workload and provides a great way to transition leadership at the local level. The great news – we have a great opening with our Imperial County Chapter. Even better news, we otherwise have active all our other 19 Chapters.

Thank you to all of you, and especially to all the volunteers that make CSMFO the premier agency that it is.