I'm writing to you a few days after attending the 2024 Pennsylvania House of Delegates Meeting, which took place this year at the modern Wind Creek Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The city now boasts new bells and whistles that have attracted new visitors from neighboring states, including hotels, casinos, shopping, and tourist attractions. The City of Bethlehem has done a fabulous job of allowing the steel mill and its history to remain visible to residents and visitors while successfully implementing new amenities that attract those to the city. The city was successfully able to receive feedback from those who understood the significance of recognizing the importance of historical successes. The ability to do so remained consistent with the pressing need to recognize the importance of planning to achieve new goals attractive to the next generation. This made Bethlehem a special place to visit and hold our meeting as we understand we must make changes that will allow us to be successful in moving our association forward while recognizing the significance of the history of the association as contributed by many of our existing board members.

The House of Delegates meeting was a remarkable success, a testament to our association's unwavering commitment to unity and respect for diverse views. We were proud to hear and recognize the voices of seasoned champions and emerging talent in our profession.

As I mentioned, we are currently in a period of significant transition. This includes the retirements of several key PPMA staff members, including our Executive Director, and the successful transition to our new Executive Director, Mike Barth. Barth has already demonstrated his ability to make positive changes, improve operational efficiencies, and foster strong relationships.

Our association has not shied away from the student recruitment crisis. Instead, we have led and worked alongside national partners to develop a strategic plan. This plan is designed to identify and target marketing campaigns that will increase podiatry school applicants, securing the future of our profession nationally and in Pennsylvania.

In short, it appears our association is on the path to modeling The City of Bethlehem from a perspective of recognizing the accomplishments of the past, which include discounted health insurance through the Guild, significantly discounted professional liability insurance, resources available to members to support reimbursement and contract concerns, and much more. We must do this while also looking past today until the future, which includes planning to recruit students, increase membership to ensure our professional is represented as a strong, unified voice for many years to come, advocate for reimbursement rates that are proportion to the economy’s inflation rates, and continue to provide quality educational conferences that will continue to attract participants without recognizing our challenges and being open to innovation.

I felt confident, overlooking a room that included representation from all of PA's regions, that our membership is well-represented with professionals committed to serving our profession and our state. We will continue to work together as a team to do the tasks we're doing on behalf of our membership, representing one united voice for our profession.