Page 10 - FDCCFlyer_Spring2024

Officer Reports
6 spring | federation flyer www.thefederation.org
There is a
phenomenon that
happens in the FDCC.
It has happened to
me many times and
I was reminded of it
at the meeting in St.
Petersburg. Roni and
I signed up for fishing and wound
up on a boat together with Tiffany
Alexander and her husband Steve.
I have known Tiff for many years.
She and I have been on the Board
together for several of those years.
I have spoken to her and Steve
many times at cocktail parties and
events, and the exchanges have
always been fun and pleasant. But
this excursion was the first time that
Roni and I have spent a solid block
of one-on-one time with them. We
had a blast together, but also got to
know them on a deeper level than is
possible at a crowded cocktail party.
It will not surprise many of you, but
both Roni and I had such a great
time with them. We walked away
and said, “Man, Tiff and Steve are
really awesome.”
Now, here is the phenomenon part.
That has happened to us time and
time again in this organization.
Every time – and I mean every
time – that we have gotten to spend
some one-on-one time with FDCC
people, including those we know
“well” in passing, we have walked
away thinking. “Wow, that was
awesome.” I knew Ed Kaplan for
years before we wound up sitting
together with him and Maddy
and our daughter at a crowded
restaurant in Munich. We sat there
all night, talking and have since
become lifelong friends (unless we
are playing cornhole, then all bets
are off).
We sat with John and Carolyn at a
picnic table in North Carolina (it
was an ADTA meeting but I still
count it, because you can’t get
more FDCC than John Woodard).
Another opportunity to learn more
about amazing people. Roni and
Stephanie Finamore bonded for
life over the anxiety of their first
ziplining experience. One was
afraid, the other encouraging. (I am
sworn to secrecy as to which was
which). At the 2013 Broadmoor
meeting, Roni and I snuck off to
Manitou Springs. We sat down for
dinner and saw Marc and Karen
Young sitting alone as well. “Should
we ask them to sit with us?” “I don’t
know, they might want to have a
quiet night together.” “Yeah, but if
we don’t ask them, they might think
we are jerks.” Well, we asked, they
joined us, either out of politeness or
desire, we’ll never know. Yet again,
we discovered amazing people and
lifelong friends.
I don’t know whether Tiff and Steve
will become lifelong friends yet. We
hope so. Tiff is an Eagles fan though,
so that presents challenges. But hey,
the Kreamers and Paula McQueen
are Chiefs fans (and Craig by
extension, but he lives in Cleveland
and needs some source of hope).
We worked through (looked past)
those allegiances, so there is a way.
These examples do not even scratch
the surface of the exhaustive list
of the people Roni and I have
connected with that have enriched
Howard Merten
“Man, Tiff and Steve are really awesome.”
The Federation
PHENOMENON
by Howard Merten - FDCC Board Chair