Letter From The Founder

For Immediate Release

For additional information, contact
Gill Wagner at 314-416-1440

Letter From The Founder

ST. LOUIS (December 10, 2007) ... 2008 will be the year that Yellow-Tie launches successful chapters in at least five other cities. And the first, most important thing needed to achieve that goal is for me to get out of the association's way.

While I may have the right personality to dream an association bus into existence and push it down the street for a bit, I am the worst possible person to stay in the driver's seat once it gains momentum. (And the fact that it's taken me 48 years to figure this out sort of proves it.)

We've got a lot to do to achieve our goals, so my strategy is to find the best drivers and passengers for our bus, put them in the right seats and enjoy the ride. (You may recognize that strategy from Jim Collins' books.)

Patty Cook and Steve Smith have put forth a tremendous effort to found and support the St. Louis chapter. I've asked them to take on the role of building a new St. Louis board, heading up the chapter's growth and having it act as a true "test kitchen" for Yellow-Tie's expansion plans. In true "give first" fashion, they were both happy and eager to accept, on the proviso: "We get Cindy." (Yes, Cindy Wagner has agreed to remain the smile behind St. Louis' name-tag table.)

If you would like to be part of this endeavor, please talk to Patty or Steve about the role you see yourself filling and the benefits you can realize from joining them on the St. Louis board.

To take on the huge job of growing the association across the globe, I've asked Dixie Gillaspie to take over as president of the international board and to head up Business Development and Strategic Planning. After graciously accepting this challenge, Dixie quickly recruited Kevin Martin to join the international board as head of Operations. Thankfully Kevin also accepted, and he and Dixie are already in the process of mapping our route, documenting the structures, protocols, procedures and systems we'll need to reach our destination, and recruiting other international board members.

Since this is exactly what Dixie and Kevin each do so well for their clients, I am thrilled to have them driving our bus and am absolutely certain we're going to see some great things happen very quickly.

For my part, I will now assume the role of chairman of the board, continuing to provide the vision and the innovation without having to drive or push. And I will forever be founder and chief dreamer for Yellow-Tie -- you'll likely see me riding on top of the bus waving to everyone.

To our existing members who were crazy enough to climb onto a bus I was driving, thank you for your blind trust. Now that I am no longer behind the wheel, I'm confident we'll have fewer detours, zero potholes, smooth pavement, sunny skies and the wind at our backs.

Could we ask for a better team or more giving volunteers?

Could I ask for a better seat?

Onward Ho, Ho, Ho,

Gill E. Wagner