Executive Outlook
 | Greetings: By the time most of you see this, we'll be within a week or so of the first anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. All of us were affected to some degree by this tragedy. My brother was in Manhattan on business that week, and while I was relatively certain he was in the midtown area, I wasn't entirely sure since he had recently changed jobs and was working out of a new office. (He was unharmed and, in fact, was one of those you may have heard aboutwith three colleagues, he drove out of Manhattan and ended up in Indianapolis, the first airport where all four of them could get flights to their respective destinations, all west of the Mississippi River.) |
Of course, not everyone was so fortunate. We lost three members that day, but the families of Helen Belilovsky, Maureen Olson and Margaret Orloske lost much, much more. While the downing of United flight 93 and the losses at the Pentagon cannot be overlooked, the devastation that took place in New York City stole most of our attention. Our members in New York have had to come to terms with the loss of three friends/professional colleagues, the loss of family and other friends/colleagues, the loss of jobs, the loss of workplaces and the disruption of their lives, that for some continues one year after the fact.
And yet we go on. If we look at things from the association's perspective, since 1909 we have survived two world wars, numerous other regional conflicts, the detonation of two atomic bombs, booms and busts of financial markets, the development of new resources and technologies that make our lives and our profession both richly rewarding and frustratingly complex, and the events of last September 11. So, we will go on.
As I write this, literally on the 4th of July, I'm not sure what kind of memorials will be held or how this nation and other nations will respond to the anniversary. I can only be reasonably certain that we will all have an opportunity to review the tragedy of September 11 numerous times. While it may be hard for some of us, whether at work, through our local communities or at home, we should recall the events of last year in some way. One of the few times I have ever been speechless was in 1980 when I was working at a reference desk one evening and a student looking for information about the bombing of Pearl Harbor admitted she didn't know when the attack took place. We must remember what happened, and the best tribute each of us can pay is to do whatever we can to help prevent another tragedy like this from taking place.
Bill Fisher, SLA President
P.S.Please don't forget to vote for the bylaws revision. By now, you all should have received your ballot for the proposed bylaws revision. Some of you may have already returned your ballotif so, thank you. If you have any questions about the vote, you can contact me, any member of the board or your chapter and division officers (especially if they were in Chicago last January or in Los Angeles in June). The ballots aren't due until October 1, so you've got the last part of September to focus on the bylaws and return your ballot.
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