Welcome to the year 2021, and good riddance to 2020!!!

What a year 2020 has been – we have all learned “social distancing”, ALWAYS to have a mask in our pocket, how to use new software like Zoom or Teams to run meetings, and how to work from home.

I am amazed at how our profession has grown and adapted to this new work environment.  At my company we transitioned to working from home, almost overnight, with minimal disruptions in workflows.

For FSMS, 2020 has been a very disruptive year, with canceled chapter meetings, chapter events, and our annual conference.  Our Society has adapted well using Zoom for Board meetings, and many chapters have had success with Zoom chapter meetings.

As I write this, the COVID vaccines are being distributed and administered, and many more doses are on the way.  With any luck, COVID will be under control within a few months, and we can return to a “new normal”.

Where do we go from here?

For FSMS, our first 2021 Board Meeting is going to be remote, as the last few have been.  Hopefully later in the year we can return to in person meetings.

Our chapters are the life blood of FSMS, and 2020 was very hard on chapter meetings and events.  For 2021, my goal is to support chapter meetings and events.  Good speakers make for good chapter meetings, and chapter events or joint chapter meeting bring people together from larger local areas.

We are going to continue to have battles on the legal front – Ligado is still pushing for use of radio spectrum that will interfere with GPS signals, and the FAA has issued new rules for drones that require Remote ID for all (new and existing) drones.

On a brighter note, our 66^th Annual FSMS Conference is ON SCHEDULE, so please mark your calendars for July 28-31, and join your fellow professionals and technicians at the Marriott Resort Sawgrass, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Please plan to join us at the Annual FSMS Conference and go to your chapter meetings!!!  2021 is going to be a GREAT year for FSMS and our profession.