September of 2001 will be with us all for the rest of our lives. The tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001, continues to impact us both in our professional and personal lives. In the aftermath of this nation-unifying event, the 2001 RMA educational conference was held in Tucson, Arizona, and was hosted by Pima Community College from September 13-15, 2001.

     Our theme for the conference, Endless Horizons, was the key to both our educational program and our companion programs. In Tucson we are blessed with great weather (sometimes a little hot) that allows us, it seems, to see forever; and as facilities management professionals, there is always the feeling that the horizon of providing exceptional customer service to our institutions is hard to reach and sustain. With these thoughts in mind we crafted a program and, later, adapted our program (due to the impossibility of some of our presenters and business partners to get to Tucson) to prepare us for endless horizons.

     The conference started on Thursday with the opportunity for conference attendees to participate in various activities. For those so inclined, there was the annual RMA Golf Tournament, which was held at the Starr Pass Golf Course; a venue often used in the past for the PGA Tucson Open. The attendees also had a choice of two different trips to expose them to the uniqueness of southern Arizona. One trip was a shopping tour with lunch to Nogales, Sonora, Mexico and Tubac, Arizona (site of an old 16th Century Spanish Mission and an artists' colony). The other trip was to Kartchner Caverns, the newest cavern complex open to the public in the U. S. These caverns are an incredible natural wonder and because they are still growing, tour groups are limited in number, so this group can truly brag that they saw something few people have seen.

     Our very busy Thursday also included our annual business meeting. During this meeting Mark Shively, associate director of physical plant, University of Wyoming, was elected third vice president. Thursday's events concluded when all attendees, members, companions, and business partners gathered at our icebreaker social that included a make-your-own-sundae buffet. (A tradition started by Bob Lashway, Montana State University, at our 1995 educational conference.) The icebreaker also served as the opening for our business partners' show.

     The next two days were the heart of our educational conference. Unfortunately, several of our presenters were unable to come and we had to juggle presentations and ask for help from our business partners and others to provide new presentations. In the true facilities spirit, everyone worked together to get the job done. The substitute presenters did an outstanding job and as a result the educational program was very successful. Our topics included: e-procurement; the chilled water production and distribution system at the University of Arizona; violence in the workplace; relationship CPR (managing and repairing relationships with our bosses, peers, coworkers, and customers); a BACNET/LONWORKS panel discussion; a talk on a day in the life of a facilities manager; the use of wireless technology in controls applications; the use of software to do project cost estimating; how to manage birds on your buildings; and a facilities tour of Biosphere II.

     I heard positive comments about all of the sessions, but several were considered exceptional. Relationship CPR presented by Mr. Brad Harper had people talking all morning on Friday. The BACNET/LONWORKS panel provide valuable insight into the development of a common protocol for interoperability, as well as what we as facilities officers can do to ensure we get what we need when procuring new or upgrading building automation systems. The visit and behind the scenes tour of Biosphere II, a $150 million, self-contained environment, was another highlight of our educational program. This facility constructed in the early 1990s was first used as a closed biosphere to see how and if it would be possible for a small group of people to live and sustain themselves for a two-year period without any assistance from outside the biosphere. Biosphere II is now a part of Columbia University and provides an educational experience at the undergraduate level, and is also used for experiments by world-renowned scientists testing hypotheses about global warming, increased build-up of carbon dioxide, among other things. This was truly a unique trip and experience.

     On Friday evening, the conference visited another world-class facility: the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. We were privileged to tour the Museum, which is in reality part zoo, part museum, and part botanical garden. We saw everything from the big and small of the Arizona-Sonora area to big horn sheep to humming birds. Also that evening we were treated to a glimpse of our Native American heritage with a variety of dances, chants, and music. At the end of the evening, everyone joined in the Friendship Dance, which was so appropriate considering the events, which had taken place on September 11.

     Our banquet on Saturday evening provided a setting for recognizing those RMA members who had contributed during the past year both at the national and regional level. Retiring President Craig Bohn presented awards of appreciation to his board members and committee chairs. He also presented a President's Award to Wayne White for exceptional service to RMA and APPA. The Lee Newman Award, for the most consistently supportive business partner, was presented to GLHN Architects and Engineers, Inc. and accepted by their President, Bill Nelson. The Val Petersen Award for best article(s) or best reporting by a state correspondent was presented to Frank Fox of the University of Wyoming.

     The next year should be an exciting one for everyone in the higher education facilities business. I am excited about serving as President during the coming year and working with our board and committee chairs to improve the educational opportunities for our membership. We are all going to be challenged because of the events that occurred last September, but I have faith that we will continue to find solutions to the challenges.

     This coming year RMA will hold its 50th education conference. The conference will be held from September 15-17, 2002 at the Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, Canada. Steve Baldick and the University of Calgary and the Banff Centre will host this conference. This will be a great place to find our higher expectations and visit a truly remarkable area. I hope to see many old faces, as well as many new faces, in Banff.