I was in the middle of a 2-week odyssey that started right after the 2011 APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition in Seattle, and has taken me from coast to coast, to Canada, and to New Jersey and New York.

Then, I received the message below:

APhA Membership Committee:

I just renewed my membership for 2011–12 today with a contribution to APhA–PAC [Political Action Committee]. Thank you for all you do for the profession of pharmacy and its future practice!

I have to tell you, it made my day! Thanks to this member, and to all the others who support us every day with your membership as well as your support of our advocacy work. I assure you that Team APhA is doing everything we know to do to protect and defend our profession.

Every day is not like that. Here’s my response to an old friend who shared some negative comments about how poorly the profession was faring:

Nice to hear from you ... I don’t dispute that the folks you quote feel the way they do. They have a right to their feelings and beliefs. Yet, I see thousands of folks who ARE getting it done, and who ARE enthusiastic about their present AND our profession’s future. I’m not discouraged by the concerns below. They just make me more determined to make a difference …

We’re doing our best at APhA to support pharmacists and their provision of services. We won’t always be appreciated by those who want us to do it faster or differently. That’s OK. I still listen carefully to them. If they participated with us, things might change to their liking. We’re a VERY inclusive organization. We don’t have nearly enough members, given the 300,000 practicing pharmacists in America! Yet I’m proud that we amplify the membership dollars we do get with complimentary work that both serves the profession and garners additional dollars to support our advocacy. Every penny that comes in goes back out to support pharmacists and our profession, whether these folks know it, or support us or participate.

I would enjoy having a conversation with any one of these folks. I’m guessing we would both learn something, and that’s a good thing.