Page 8 - FDCC Flyer Spring 2022

The Return to
In Person Meetings
By Howard A. Merten
Howard A. Merten
Is there anything better than the return to in-person meetings? Seriously, could you feel the energy everywhere when we were together in Palm
the space between me and Roni’s cosmo is filled with friends I have not seen in months and, in many cases, years. Hugs, handshakes, catching up with friends, jokes long overdue (deserved, to be sure). What a joy to fight to get a drink!
Our new members are awesome. We had a bumper crop of first-time attendees at Desert Springs. It was a challenge to meet so many of them. I don’t think I got them all. But like the long journey to get to the bar, what a delightful challenge. Hearing their stories at the new member
reception. Catching a few minutes with them at a cocktail hour. Connecting them to the chair of a committee or a member who does the same work and knows the same people. Finding out what George W. is reading nowadays. (Your challenge in Seattle is to find out which of our new members knows the answer to that question.) Our future looks bright.
Our members are the real deal. How did I get assigned to the 7:00am CLE slot on Wednesday morning. (Lauren?) I thought I had
Desert? A few highlights for me:
It can be a good thing when you can’t get a drink. I can see it. The bar. Only twenty feet away. Roni is waiting for me to bring her a cosmo. That is pretty much impossible. Not because the line is too long. No,
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