OK, next observation: this show is more international than ever before. Business is being conducted on the floor in several languages, and the importance of the international membership has obviously increased. It used to be very much like the World Series, where we don’t actually invite other countries to play. But no more. In fact, in talking to Scott Wills, the Director of International Education, current membership is around 20% international – and growing. Of course, if they finally admitted that Canada was not part of the US, it would be a lot more.

And, as another mark of our internationalization, my friend Nelson Baumgratz was selected as this year’s Educator of the Year, an honor he richly deserves and another Sign that we are slowly becoming truly an international organization.

JRR