I have to admit I wondered how on earth Mark Funk could surpass his Inaugural Address from last year. He didn't surpass his speech in 2008, he gave the perfect continuation of what his Inaugural Address started. To put it another way, it was almost like his Inaugural Address was the season ending cliff hanger to your favorite television program, and his Presidential Address this year was the much anticipated season premier.

He briefly refreshed our memories with a flash back of his speech from last year and then delivered another truly inspiring address about his presidential year. Mark's "Connections: Bridging the Gaps," spoke about using and integrating technology within MLA and medical librarianship to bridge the gaps and make connections to members in the organization. He also pressed upon the idea that we should not just do things because, "That is the way we've always done it before."

Mark's speech reminded me to try and think outside of the box and look at things from a different perspective. Stop automatically accepting dogmatic approaches to things, and begin to reevaluate other methods. Who knows maybe the new way of doing things is better, it could also be worse. But if it is worse at least I tried something new learned from that experience and I can go back to the previously established method.

The McGovern Lecture just naturally seemed to build on the enthusiasm I felt from Mark's address. Andrew Zolli, a foresight and global trends consultant analyzes critical trends of culture, technology and global society. He gave a very humorous and dynamic speech regarding the changing demographics and how that affects the changing world and society. By knowing and learning about your group's (country, state, city, or institution) demographics you will be better prepared to plan and prepare for the changes due to the demographic shift.

Labels: MLA2008