The Torch Magazine

President Norine Haas

     Greetings to all!

    Thinking about spring is a challenge as I sit down to write this, for it is February, the world outside is in a deep freeze, and the East Coast is snowbound. But it is a pleasant prospect, and when you read this publication, spring will indeed be here.

    The IATC Board of Directors met in Baltimore recently to continue the progress we are making to rebrand the Torch International enterprise. To save funds and create efficiencies, our approach to some of the ways in which we operate has changed. I know change is difficult to handle, and I want sincerely to thank all of you for cooperating with the Torch leadership as we carry out our tasks in new ways. We greatly appreciate your assistance. Torch people are wonderful!

    Some local club officers found difficult the spreadsheets we sent to sort out the active from the inactive members among the names in our database. Believe me, I understand. I myself was working happily with an old computer lacking spreadsheet capability before I purchased a confusing new one to handle the spreadsheet attachments I was receiving from my Torch colleagues. I’ll wager I am not the only person who recently found him or herself in a very puzzled state! But, my eye is on the prize—a Torch organization that possesses accurate information about our membership with new systems functioning well, including a user-friendly website.   And that’s not all.

    The Board of Directors came up with interesting ideas for the future of Torch, driven by our goal of 100 clubs and 5,000 members by 2024, the year of Torch’s centennial. More about that later, but here are two trial balloons—Torch Tours (talked about for a decade), and the possibility of finding a celebrated guest speaker for a future Annual Meeting and Convention.

     Thanks to Jim Coppinger, our e-communications have a bright new look, and people are universally pleased with our new member packets, with the new time saving way of sending and paying for them. Best of all, a new spirit is at work in our clubs. An active Torch Club can be “the leaven in the lump” in a community lucky enough to have one. Clubs trying new methods to invite friends and neighbors to join them have been highlighted in recent Torchlight e-Newsletters. Keep tuned!

    A question for everyone: Do you have family members or friends in Minneapolis who fit the Torch member mold? Let us know—we would love to establish a club in the fair city where Torch began in 1924 to host the 2024 Annual Meeting and Convention. Give that some thought. Meanwhile, I’d love to meet you in Lincoln at the Annual Meeting and Convention in June.

    Let’s close with a quote from James Joyce: “I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day.” Let’s all think about what we are establishing as we enjoy the journey we call life!

My best to all,
Norine