By - Carl Barringer - Past President and Current Board Member

As I write this, I’m full of gratitude. I’ll be stepping down from the ICF Philadelphia Board at the end of this month. It’s been three years and it is hard to acknowledge, let alone articulate, what it has meant to me.

First, the past. Our chapter was started more than 20 years ago by Ken Abrams – who happened to be my PCC mentor coach. I wasn’t around then, but the roots were planted – for ICF Philadelphia as well as for coaching. Both have come so far.

I took over from Lynn Meinke who worked tirelessly for years before I arrived and for my first year when I was the membership director. All of the past presidents as well as the board members deserve an immense amount of appreciation.

I had the joy of working with a new board (which partially overlaps each year). In a matter of months, Cassandra Moore’s energy and stewardship were obvious and she quickly stepped in to be my Vice President. As the current president (for the last year and at least the next), Cassandra has worked tirelessly on every facet of chapter work. Perhaps the thing that stands out the most for me is her developing and empowering our entire board. This, in turn, has empowered them to powerfully utilize our additional volunteers.

Even while this last year was entirely virtual, I leave the board with:

• a much-expanded reach in the community – with volunteers, coaches as well as the business community

• an awesome start in reaching diversity levels commensurate with powerful creativity, problem-solving and decision-making – this includes diversity of thought, programming and personnel

• a new good-looking and far more interactive website

• a vibrant membership as the coaching industry and the chapter attracts stellar professionals at an increasing rate

I am leaving with a bit of sadness - yet my enthusiasm for the new board and the direction of the chapter fill me with excitement and immeasurable gratitude.