APhA’s year kicked off on April 24 when more than 40 Academy leaders and members of the Board’s Strategic Directions Committee (SDC) gathered for APhA’s 2015 Academies Leadership Meeting (ALM). ALM sets the stage for the year’s educational and policy agenda, which is developed from the ground up, rather than from the top down. We listen carefully to our Academy leaders, and they represent our members well. Our primary objective expressed in the meetings was “expanding opportunities though patient care.”

Oh, and to make sure Congress knows what pharmacists are doing in their local communities and to advocate for H.R. 592 and S. 314, we hit Capitol Hill with a total of 39 Hill visits conducted by 23 Academy leaders.

APhA President-elect Kelly Goode served as ALM’s master of ceremonies. ALM was cohosted by Academy Presidents Wendy Weber (APhA–APPM) and her infant daughter, pharmacist-in-training baby Ellie; Melody Ryan (APhA–APRS); and Lucy West (APhA–ASP).

The meeting kicked off on Friday afternoon with the Opening General Session, and I shared a brief “State of the Association” presentation. APhA President-elect Goode delivered a well-received keynote presentation, Connecting, Networking, and Collaborating: Maximizing Your Leadership Skills. The day concluded with the ALM networking reception held on the Potomac View Terrace at APhA headquarters, where meeting attendees enjoyed the beautiful evening and took in the sight of our nation’s capital.

On Saturday morning, former APhA staffer and strategy expert Jann Skelton engaged leaders in a “brain writing” exercise designed to help answer the question, “What happens after we achieve provider status?” Through this innovative exercise, leaders explored and brainstormed the next steps of this important campaign.

The remainder of ALM consisted of various Academy and standing committee meetings, including a very spirited discussion on the policy topics to be presented to the Board for potential consideration by the 2016 House of Delegates and education program development for the 2016 APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition.

In conjunction with ALM, APhA’s SDC, led by President-elect Goode, met and discussed a variety of topics related to APhA’s strategic plan.  As we work to accomplish our goals for 2015, the SDC is already planning for 2016 and beyond.

ALM concluded on a successful note Sunday afternoon. Now staff are engaged in making the plans come to life with a tremendous cadre of leaders at all levels of the organization.

Let me close by thanking the thousands of volunteers who make our work not only meaningful, but also successful!