President’s Message
Katie Davenport-Kabonic, DO, FAAFP
Not being a car person, bear with me. While I would love to know the mechanics of automobiles to be able to service and repair my own vehicle, or understand more than 36% of a “Click and Clack” show, I do not foresee that happening in my future. What I do know though, is what it feels like to drive a car that is running smoothly, and the feeling of freedom, control, and responsibility behind the wheel.
Having had the privilege of learning to drive on a manual transmission – first on a 1972 Datsun pickup and later a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle – on the dirt roads and steep hills of Albuquerque, New Mexico, I learned to be sensitive to the signs and symptoms of an engine nearing its gear thresholds as well as my own tells of rising fears of stalling the engine or slipping too far backwards on a steep incline. I learned to simultaneously use both feet and both hands and keep my wits about me when the conditions required time- sensitive action as well as finesse to keep the vehicle moving in the intended direction. My parents certainly selected the ideal conditions to teach such things to a teenager. Needless to say, I didn’t know (or appreciate) this at the time, but I was learning more than just driving skills in those vehicles and on those hills. And those first vehicles were more than just cars to me, just as my parents were more than just my driving instructors.
Since those first vehicles, I have driven several others to match my needs, capacities, and capabilities to successfully and safely navigate whatever the terrain presented. After having my first child, it was necessary to expand beyond the beloved manual transmission Nissan Frontier, which I purchased off my big brother in Colorado and drove for the first time on a cross-country journey. With two children now – and an unchanged affinity for road trips – I am now in my mini-van era. While driving the Honda Odyssey with an automatic transmission does not thrill me like the trucks that connected me to my Davenport family, it gets my Kabonic family where it needs to go, and that is all I – and they – truly need right now.
Recently, our MAOPS Board of Trustees came to a difficult but unanimous decision to sell the MAOPS Central Office building in Jefferson City. This was a topic of consideration for over the past two and a half years and was addressed thoughtfully and carefully among MAOPS leadership with the utmost historical and financial expertise within the organization. It was first investigated and evaluated within our finance committee and presented for Board discussion last year. After much discussion – which included a variety of perspectives, it was decided to delay a decision on the matter and resume discussions the following year.
For much of this past year, our MAOPS executive and finance committees have re-evaluated and further investigated the prospect of the MAOPS building sale as one of many considerations necessary to explore to be thoroughly prepared for strategic planning process. The projected trends and objective data acquired from the process of preparing for strategic planning provided the Board with more information to revisit the decision during this October’s board meeting. As expected, thankfully, there was again much thoughtful discussion on the matter with a variety of perspectives presented. There was consensus that ample information and time were available to confidently vote again on the matter. There was understanding that our organization remains financially healthy. There was gratitude for the contributions, achievements, and perseverance of the MAOPS members represented in each and every brick of the building as well as its grounds. There was awareness of the weight of this decision, and it was not for one moment taken lightly by any Board member. It was as if we felt the slope of the hill and knew the move in the intended direction would come with a momentary suspension and challenge of that which we were sensitive to. We knew that we needed to and could ( thanks to the work of all our preceding instructors) make such a big decision that keeps us all moving forward, smoothly, going where we need to go.
So while the decision to sell our home of the last fifty years was made, it was not made spontaneously, and it was not made without significant discussion of potential ramifications. In the end, it boiled down to the fact that, just like my past vehicles, it is time to move on for the benefit of our Missouri osteopathic family. Once sold (which we are not in a hurry to do!), funds can be invested in a manner to secure our financial well-being during times of need, as well as support the critical infrastructure that has made MAOPS one of the strongest osteopathic organizations since its inception in 1897!