Page 6 - CMA PROfiles Summer 2015

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S DESK

Change is Good

by Jim McDermott, CMA Executive Director an exercise in patience, and being more patient. Welcome to
t's been a while since we last saw each other on the pages da islands mon!
of Profiles. I'm glad to be back! It has been an interest-
I ing five and a half years, but it is a really good story... As We arrived safely in St Thomas nine days after leaving Ft
many of you know, I left the Executive Director position Lauderdale. After celebrating with my crew, it was back to
in October of 2009 to pursue my lifelong dream of sailing. reality and the States for them, but the beginning of a new
I purchased a 46' Beneteau and spent the next year and a life for me. I made it! Ok, now what? I spent the next six
half doing a refit and enjoying the local Southern Califor- months sailing the local USVI waters and exploring the
nia waters. I really took to my new lifestyle of sailing and British Virgin Islands. Lots of really cool places to see and
living aboard. But, the waters of the Pacific, while gener- experience, and more than a few beach bars. Each island
ally great to sail on, were a little (ok, a lot) cold for me. I had always had its own local flavor and was slightly different than the others. I
dreamed of sailing the Caribbean on my own boat and began to plan adapted rather quickly to island life. After a lifetime of hard work,
how I could get my boat there. In my usual fashion, once the deci- it was truly paradise. True to form, my type A personality started to
sion was made, I wanted to be in warm water as quickly as possible. re-awaken and I needed to do something productive. Too much lazing
I also wanted to beat hurricane season. So I had my boat shipped about is not necessarily a good thing. What to do, what to do? After
to Florida by truck. After putting it back together and a few days of thinking about it for a while, I decided to get my Captain license. Af-
sea trials, we were ready to set sail for St Thomas. I say we because ter taking the classes and acing the tests, it was time to look for work.
a few friends of mine came along for the trip. It was a great learn- My first job took me to St Martin
ing experience for me, and a trip of a lifetime for all of us. A few as support crew on a reality TV
hi-lights of the trip were seeing the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Haiti/ show. It was an intense six weeks I'm glad to be back
Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico from a boat for the first time. of working really long hours and
Swimming where the bottom was a mere 15,000 feet below and the then waiting around for a few days with the CMA and
water was as dark as ink is an experience I will never forget. Dealing only to do it all over again. I got to
with Customs and Immigration in the Dominican Republic is always experience a few more islands (St have some exciting
Martin, Anguilla and St Barts), and
can honestly say I like the Dutch things planned for
side of St Martin better (Heineken
on tap!). After returning to St our future.
Thomas, I was lucky enough to
land a job as captain on a tour boat
going to the BVI's. After a year of that, I got the urge to get off island
for a little while. I went to NY to visit with my family and then back
to CA to visit with friends. I made my way back to St Thomas and
enjoyed the island and sailing life for another 9 months. As with all
good things, they run their course and must come to an end. I went on
another sailing adventure in June, headed back to Ft Lauderdale with
the intention of selling my boat. After six long months, she was sold.
Off to NY to spend the holidays with family and then a move back to
southern California and dry land. Whew!
So what's next? I'm glad to be back with the CMA and have some
exciting things planned for our future. AWFS is coming up soon and
we are hosting several events there you don't want to miss. Watch
your email and check the forum for details. I'll also be introducing
a Mentor Program for new and existing members. A real benefit of
the CMA is networking and learning from other members, and some
prefer doing it one on one, so we will make this available to all mem-
bers. If you feel you have something to offer, please contact me to
become part of the program. I will be working closely with our new
Director of Sales and Marketing, Amanda Conger. Together we are
planning three regional events in the fall, so stay tuned. More info as
plans develop.

If there is anything you would like to see in the way of future events
and benefits for members, please let me know. Feel free to call and
catch up. I'm looking forward to speaking with you and I promise to
keep the pirate stories to a minimum. Aarrrrgh. ❖

6 PROFILES • Volume 15 • Issue 3, 2015 • www.cabinetmakers.org