11/27/2014 5:11 AM
I learned this past week that after 28 years of outstanding service to the GCSAA and our profession, Penny is retiring in early Feb. of 2015! While at first I was in shock, as I have had the distinct pleasure of working with her first while I pursed my CGCS, then as a Certification Com. Member & currently as both a portfolio judge and an attestor and I was concerned how the program would function in her absence. She really has been the face of Certification and has contributed in immense ways to help set the standards that this program is held to! While at the same time holding herself to an even higher standard and this is an attribute of a true professional!! Her name has been and will continue to be used in the same sentence as the Certification program, as she has indeed left her mark in so many positive ways!
However, I now have had a week to reflect and can say that I am extremely happy for her as she eagerly anticipates what life will bring next for her. Additionally, I also now realize that when someone such as Penny has had a hand in a program for as long as she has, her impact will not simply go away the day she retires. Without a doubt she will be a tough act to follow and without a doubt she will be dearly missed, but I am confident that the groundwork that she has helped lay will live on and her successor and we as GCSAA Members need to continue her legacy and make the Certification program even stronger, as this is what she would expect out of all of us! I know that I became both a better person and better professional through my contact with her.
Good luck, a heartfelt congratulations and a big thank you for 28 years of service to our profession Penny.
Steven Neuliep, CGCS