President's Message - February 2024
This year February - the month of 28 days - has 29. Leap year occurs every four years and makes the uniqueness of February a little more fun. People born on February 29th get to choose what day to celebrate their birthday, and then every four years get to have two birthday parties.
A forgotten part of having an extra day every four years are those who die on February 29th. The loss of a loved one hurts and the grief process is different for everyone. Imagine the survivors who then have to choose what day to acknowledge their loss, or wait four long years to acknowledge their loss. I asked a grief therapist friend if any studies have ever been done on this issue and she wasn’t aware of any. Just when we thought we knew everything about grief and loss, something like this pops into our train of thought.
For those of you who have already renewed their membership to NYSFDA for 2024, I’d like to thank you for your renewal and your faith in our association. February is also the month that the second dues request letters/emails are sent out. Please take this as an extra reminder and renew your membership and be able to continue to be a vital part of our great association. In the NFL draft, the last player chosen is called Mr. Irrelevant. The starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers was Mr. Irrelevant 2022, and has a shot of taking his team to the Super Bowl this year. The last member paying dues to NYSFDA will not be irrelevant because we value each and every member of our great association, so since there is no prize for being last, please try to get your dues in early this year.
2024 is also a license renewal year. Please log onto the NYSFDA website and look at the upcoming CEUs being offered at no cost to members of NYSFDA. Another great reason to renew early.
For such a short month February has a lot of events, notably Black History Month is celebrated, Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday are celebrated in February this year, President’s Day, Groundhog Day and Valentine’s Day are always in February. I saved my favorite February date till last. February 15 - The New York Mets pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training. And that quickly, all is good in the world, till the Mets lose their first game of the year…
In partnership,
John D’Arienzo