Five years ago today, APhA staff and operations relocated back into our beautiful new headquarters in Washington, DC. As my predecessor John Gans noted in an e-mail on our official move-in date—May 4, 2009—that day was a “glorious experience” as we saw the bright future that we have here.

“In our lives, we get a few days like this, and my recommendation is to take full stock of today,” he wrote. “George Carlin said it best: ‘Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.’ For us, this was that kind of a moment.”

The home of American pharmacy on the National Mall, the American Institute of Pharmacy was originally designed by John Russell Pope, a renowned architect who designed many of our nation’s landmarks, and dedicated in 1934. The new addition to the original Pope building was completed in 2009.

As attested to by e-mails from that time, our APhA team planned and executed a very complex move. We consolidated, packed, and emptied too many cardboard boxes to count. We pushed tirelessly for days without a break to ensure that our furniture, materials, IT connectivity, and other upgrades were available to staff for our first days in the office. And we minimized disruption to member services.

This historic space is phenomenal, and a testament to our profession. Its real value, however, is being achieved as we continue to fulfill our mission.