04/30/2018

Good Afternoon MTAS,

Happy Monday to you. I think it’s going to be a terrific week ahead. I hope you can share my belief. I’m pretty sure David Angerer thinks this will be a great week since he retires this week. Tomorrow is David’s last day. He joined MTAS on March 1, 2001. David – it’s been a wonderful seventeen year ride with you. I’ll miss you and I’ll never forget our Tom Ballard interview day.

Until we get the position permanently filled, Athanasia Lewis will be filling in on a temporary basis. She’ll be working out of the Memphis office, and here is her contact information:

Phone: 865-705-9252
Email:
athanasia.lewis@tennessee.edu

Last week I attended the ICMA Regional Summit in Alabama. This was a tremendous conference, as always; and I used the opportunity to tell the MTAS story to anyone that would listen. I became particularly happy when I introduced myself to folks I didn’t know who said “Oh yes, I’ve heard about MTAS. That seems like a great outfit.” We’ve got a fabulous reputation and I thank you for that.

Also at the conference, I attended some strong sessions. In a session on sustainability, this quote by Charles Darwin was presented: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” I thought a lot about this one. I hope it gives you something to ponder as well.

Another note I had written down from the conference was about coaching. High performers (we have a lot at MTAS) care about being challenged and invested in; and a coach’s role is to look at possibilities. I plan on giving you lots of challenging possibilities going forward, and I want you to know that I care about you and your successes. Together we can accomplish so much more than each of us working individually. Yes, I’m invested.

Over the weekend, I attended a concert. There were two acts: The Four Tops and the Temptations. For each group, there was only one original member remaining. The Four Tops original band member talked about the band’s forty year history. For the Temptations, the original member introduced the rest of the band, one of whom was a brother to an original member, another was a grandson and the bandleader was a nephew to an original member. What impressed me about this (well, there were a lot of things) was the passion that sustained both of these bands. You don’t have a successful forty plus year career without caring about what you do and doing what you care about. The music moves these guys. What is it that moves you? I hope this is an easy answer for you.

I’ll leave you this week with a lyric from the Temptations, from the album "Meet The Temptations" (1964):

Well, you could have been anything that you wanted to
And I can tell, the way you do the things you do

Find what moves you and “do the things you do.”

Sincerely,
Margaret