Go the distance

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Dear Council on Renal Nutrition and Allied Team Members,

As I reflect back on my 3-year term as the Council on Renal Nutrition (CRN) Chairperson, I am secure in knowing that I have gone the distance. My involvement with CRN has been a most rewarding experience, and I will forever cherish and be grateful for it.

Being able to represent and lead the CRN Executive Committee and membership through a wide variety of networking activities and patient and professional projects has provided me with the strength and fortitude to pursue and be selected for a new Directorship role at my place of employment. These CRN activities have shown me how to lead with my heart and not just my mind. I was given the opportunity to work alongside many wonderful individuals, including many of you, which I greatly appreciate. Together we have accomplished many things, which I will now take this opportunity to highlight.

These are just a few of the activities with which I have been involved, either directly or indirectly, with my leadership assignments. When I stepped into my expedited role as Chairperson in the fall of 2001, one of my main goals was to restore the integrity and mission of this volunteer organization and to bring it back to the forefront of the NKF organization. I believe this has been accomplished because I had the support and confidence from all of you to fulfill my passion and dreams.

I realize I set the bar very high for myself and for all of you as well. It is important to believe in yourself and in what you are capable of doing. Do not be afraid to expand your horizons, to venture outside of your safety zone or your “box,” but do it so it is manageable and you can provide quality work, not just quantity. Remember to seek out the acknowledgment you deserve because you are the CKD expert in nutrition.

Another goal I had was to provide an effective template for professionalism by mentoring those who touched my life. Again, be honest with yourself about your capabilities and lean on those you have confidence in. Always aim to seek out and strive for the best quality product, not necessarily perfection, because that will allow you to have reachable and achievable goals. Have the courage of conviction to do your best and capture your desired outcomes because the payback will be 10-fold in building up your self-esteem and mentoring those around you.

I now have the pleasure to introduce to you the new CRN Chairperson, Deborah Brommage, MS, RD, CSR, CDN. She has been a member of “my team” during my term and has graciously stepped into the Chairperson role 6 months earlier than she had planned on because I needed to devote more of my professional and personal time to my new employment position and to my family. She will do a “bang-up” job in this role and in carrying on the mission of CRN and NKF for the CKD patients and professionals. I have asked her to join me in this Chairperson message so that she can have the honor of introducing herself to the Journal of Renal Nutrition readers. But first, before I hand over this Chairperson message to her, I would like to complete my message with these closing words:

I sincerely thank the CRN Executive Committee, the NKFstaff, the ADA-RPG Board and membership, my Council on Nephrology Nurses and Technicians (CNNT) and Council on Nephrology Social Workers (CNSW) colleagues and nephrologists, my family, my friends, and my religious faith, but most of all, the CRN membership for your undying support over these past 3-plus years.

I will always have “renal” in my blood, and my heart will always be “CRN.” It has been my honor to serve all of you in this position. Please remember to remain strong and steadfast, because you too “can go the distance”!

With My Utmost Best,