National Catholic Forester

National Catholic Forester 6 Spring is a time for renewal and growth as well as time for putting a spring in everyone's step. After winter, we welcome the rebirth of green colors on the landscape along with the bright sunshine. Spring fills our lives with warmth, brightness and rebirth. At NCSF spring is also time to hit the reset button to take it up to another level. We are in the middle of significant changes to our business processes and our court system. Why? Regulation requires it and our courts need it. Progress is going on all around us. The way we shop, the way we drive, the way we live has advanced. NCSF is changing too. That change will continue throughout the year. There is opportunity and success ahead during this reset. Our Society is ready for a good year of not only building our business but building membership. Our goal is to balance the great service members have come to enjoy, with the implementation of innovative technologies to help our business move forward. Members are talking about the energy they feel when they call the Home Office — good signals for the future. As a Society, we have been through significant changes to move successfully into the future over a relatively short period of time. Throughout this change, the one thing that continues to be constant as the Society moves forward is our continued commitment to our members to provide quality products and great member benefits. We have taken the opportunity to continue to enhance what we do in the Home Office by building a new Sales team and a new fraternal department called the "Outreach and Engagement Department." This new name more closely relates to what the department will be focused on – reaching out to the courts and engaging with our members. We are also constructing a plan to help refresh our court system to guarantee that the Society will continue well into the next century and beyond. This is what the process of change is all about. The NCSF Board of Directors is also committed to assisting us in pushing the reset button. They are supportive partners in moving the business and the Society forward. Together we will hit the reset button to continue to provide quality products and benefits for our current and potential members while improving the viability of our courts. We are listening, learning, and taking the actions necessary to move the Society forward. We will continue with quality improvements enhancing our business processes and our court system throughout 2018 and into 2019. "Plans are nothing; Planning is everything." President General Dwight D. Eisenhower This quote underlines the necessity to plan ahead with the ability to be nimble and wise to adjust our course when necessary. The current economic environment requires thoughtful planning ahead and course correction when necessary. In this issue of the magazine, you will see that throughout this somewhat changeable economic environment, NCSF continues to offer stability, responsible financial management, accountability, value and the sense of family all our members deserve. Let's hit the "Reset Button" together and "Spring into action." LISA BICKUS, CEO TIME TO HIT THE RESET BUTTON The one thing that continues to be constant as the Society moves forward is our continued commitment to our members to provide quality products and great member benefits. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 44 YEARS WITH NCSF! Maureen Bassett, we wish you a blessed and happy retirement!

• Cover