I continued to assist Larry with many administrative tasks as a consultant while also working as a full-time banker until 1987, when the board put a line item in the budget to hire me as a full-time consultant. I ran ASFPM out of my home for 10 years, growing from the smallest room in my house to the largest, with a half-time assistant. When Larry retired from the Wisconsin DNR in 1997, we became staff and contracted office space with the accounting and membership services firm we were using at the time. My numerous varied duties and titles over 37 years include consultant, administrator, office manager, project management, editor for newsletters, annual reports, member directory, and success stories, board and committee support, staff leader, conferences and special events management, communications, outreach, foundation administration, and more! I retired in June 2018.

In many ways, I was the face of the association because I provided support administration on all association initiatives since early 1980s:

• Membership processing, member support, nominations and elections
• Newsletters, logo, annual membership national directory
• Board, and committees, administrative council, PODs, strategic planning
• Finances, banking, treasurer assistance, fundraising
• Nonprofit status attainment, working with Mark Riebau
• Outreach and communications with federal agencies and non-profit organizations
• Chapter recruitment and support
• Certified Floodplain Manager program–development through implementation
• Foundation conception and actualization
• Project management
• Scopes of work and contracts/cooperative agreements with numerous federal agencies – FEMA, Corps of Engineers, EPA, NRCS, TVA, BLM,
• No Adverse Impact initiative — promotion and administration
• Technical publications, white papers, success stories
• Corporate partners and sponsors
• Special issue conferences/ workshops — arid, floodproofing, mitigation, stormwater, river restoration
• Legal issues contracts and documents publication
• Programs such as Community Rating System, Flood Hazard Fellowship Fund, Natural and Beneficial Functions, Cooperating Partners
• Care and feeding of our many volunteers
• New staff positions, as needed, thru our growth and expansion
• And always direct support to Executive Director Larson

Activities around managing the conferences and awards program are separate, distinct, and massive! Brochure production, advertising, program overview, communications, exhibits, oversight of registration and management functions, facilities siting, booking, and onsite management from advance planning through close out, local host team and program coordination, social events, and ancillary board and committee meetings., For the ASFPM Awards program, I managed the process from from soliciting nominations to selection, on-site arrangements, awards ceremony, travel assistance as needed, and secret keeping!

It was a lot of work, a lot of fun, and extremely gratifying to see an organization grow from a small group of people with an idea to an influential, trusted, and knowledgeable professional association. Larry often told me that one of my greatest strengths is a positive outlook, willingness to help others, and knowing our members and their needs. 

That was my constant mantra: I am not a floodplain manager, I am an Association Manager. As such, I always told staff, our job is to better help our members do their job! And of course, to further our mission: Dedicated to reducing flood risk, damages, and losses in the nation and protecting the natural and beneficial functions of floodplains, all without causing adverse impacts on other people or properties.