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PROFILE Glenn speaking at APPA 2013 became familiar with the international aspect of APPA and with the workings of a large national nonprofit. By 2010, he was dean of the Leadership Academy and ran for APPA Vice President for Professional Development. In 2012, he ran for President-Elect. As he begins his presidential year, Smith says, "My theme is APPA's Celebrating and Building Upon APPA's 100 Years. Each of us has a unique story of involvement with APPA and of the degree it has served us in our lives and professions." In part, he says, this is a year for "celebrating and for reflecting on our history—how far we have come, not just technologically, but professionally. The facilities manager just used to be the blue-collar power plant manager, not considered a professional, not college educated, with no voice when major decisions were being made. People should realize that an institution's buildings are as valuable as its endowment—perhaps more valuable," he says. "You have to have professionals managing them right." Smith also wants to focus on keeping professional development vibrant and accessible and on finding and encouraging the next generation of facilities managers. "Professional development is the cornerstone of APPA," he says. "I am especially interested in the professional development continuum and wish to encourage those programs to grow." The problem is that, when institutional money is tight, training and professional development funds dry up. Yet, he says, it's precisely when money is tight that "you need the most educated workforce because you have to be able to work effectively. "If, in the current economy, our members cannot afford to come to us for professional development, we want to be able to go to them," he says. "Locally delivered Drive-In Workshops, Supervisor's Toolkits, and Leadership Academy programs will 16 | september/october 2013 | Facilities Manager reach more people and cut down on time away and travel. I want to make sure we move in that direction," he says. "Deferred professional development is more dangerous than deferred maintenance of buildings, and we know how dangerous that can be." In addition, Smith wants to seek ways for APPA "to find and encourage the next generation of facilities managers. We are seeing the graying of senior facilities managers," he says, "and anytime the economy has a downturn, people postpone retirement. We really need to look at how we can reach out and recruit new people to come into the profession." While unusual career paths can add interest to APPA journeys, Smith says that APPA needs to come up with a better plan for a more direct path and make people aware this is a satisfying and stable career field. In pursuing this goal, Smith hit the ground running, hosting the first Emerging Professionals Summit at APPA's annual meeting in August. Another focus will be to expand APPA's global outreach, particularly with increased collaboration with existing Glenn and Susan Smith international alliance partners and the establishment of new APPA chapters in Mexico. Smith believes the time is right to reach out to our neighboring institutions south of the border, align them with APPA's existing regions, and embrace the many opportunities for mutual growth. Often in his career, Smith has stretched himself to accomplish worthwhile ends. He hopes to continue to do this as president of APPA. He cites lines from Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: "The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times….The best moments usually occur if a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile…. Optimal experience is thus something we make happen.... For each person, there are thousands of opportunities, challenges to expand ourselves." For Smith, it is all about the journey— constantly moving forward with a clear sense of direction while exploring opportunities, facing challenges, experiencing adventure, and gaining a sense of accomplishment along the way. "APPA has provided me an exciting journey thus far," he says, "and it's far from over." Anita Blumenthal is a freelance writer based in Potomac, MD; she can be reached at anitablu@earthlink.net. To read Flow in its entirety, got to www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/ mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/.