by Robert Reardon, Columnist
("Eye to the Future" is a column published in each issue of The Humanitarian, the newsletter for Humanitarian Society members.)

It has been said that the greatness of an organization or a country is measured not only by how much good it has been able to accomplish under great leadership, but also by how much it continues to accomplish when that leader departs. The challenge to good now evolves into the challenge to do good later. The challenge to do good short term becomes the challenge to do good long term. To be a great country, for example, the United States of America had to prove it could survive and thrive beyond the leadership of George Washington. It is fast becoming a reality that to be a great organization the Humanitarian Society will have to similarily prove it can survive and thrive beyond the leadership of its founder and president, Dr. Wayne T. Moses, and the total dedication of Mr. Lou Labadini.

Dr. Wayne and Lou have not only created a fabulous organization but have also guided its transition from a small start-up group of well-minded people to the full scale Humanitarian Society it has become today. In the process they have overseen hundreds of affairs, events, luncheons, dances, and even Fourth of July BBQs in their quest to raise money for local charities and needy people. The schedule for today's Humanitarian Society is ambitious to say the least and on an annual basis is almost overwhelming. In fact, on a sustained basis it has been overwhelming even to Dr. Wayne and Lou. For this and other reasons related to their desire to maintain good health, spend more time in recreation with their beloved horses, and to initiate the transition process for the Humanitarian Society, Dr. Wayne and Lou have announced that they are cutting way back on their intense involvement in the hectic schedule of events and plan to relax more and gracefully extricate themselves from the requirements of running events. Unless someone steps in to take over, this also means that the Humanitarian Society will take a step back from the hectic pace of today's schedule.

This is clearly a good and right thing for Dr. Wayne and Lou to do. They have served the community well and their legacy is assured. It now remains for the Humanitarian Society to prove, just as a new nation had to do over 220 years ago, that it can survive, thrive, and continue to do good well into the future. The finest retirement gift which Dr. Wayne and Lou could ever receive is knowing the Humanitarian Society is continuing the good work which they started. And to Dr. Wayne and Lou we can only say "Happy Trails and Thanks."