Dear fellow Society members:

Can you believe it has been a month since we met in Tempe? Thank you again for prioritizing the work of thinking through the Society’s future. And many thanks to those who contributed to the picture bank. Memories to cherish! (If you are NOT okay with pictures being used in SSFF materials, including the website, please email Koritha directly at kamitche@gmail.com).

Please know that the board has continued to work with all of your feedback in mind.

In fact, to keep the momentum from having interacted with you last month, the board has a facilitated retreat scheduled for May 15th. Based on the thorough notes taken throughout the in-person meeting, the professional facilitator has been developing the retreat agenda.

Among our many concerns is deciding how often and in what manner the Society will meet in the future. For the past several years, the SSFF has hosted a FALL online meeting with breakout sessions and a keynote address. Those online events have allowed more members to participate than could make it to Tempe. We hope to continue sponsoring those every Fall.

There seems to be interest in regular in-person meetings as well, and we have already had members express interest in hosting. We expect to make some decisions about whether a SPRING in-person meeting could become annual as well as what process we might use for deciding on hosts and host institutions. One aim of this board retreat, then, is to be in a position to announce locations for 2024 and 2025 meetings soon, along with how to propose your location/institution to host 2026.

Please know that there will be many opportunities to get involved. For instance, the Society’s goals are often accomplished through committees, and those were never designed to be composed of board members only. Please keep the SSFF on your radar and encourage other senior Ford fellows that haven’t connected to the community to do so. We’re working to be around for the long haul! Help us do so! Do you know senior Fordies who aren’t SSFF members? Encourage them to join us by visiting https://seniorfordfellows.org/join-us.

In the Ford Spirit,
SSFF Board