A Well-deserved Tribute

The Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC), the largest multidisciplinary wound care organization, is celebrating its 22nd anniversary of involvement with the wound care community as of September 2017. Over the past 22 years, it has grown and forged itself as a leader in wound care on all levels and for all practitioners. One of the driving forces behind the success of the AAWC has been its Executive Director, Tina Thomas. Tina’s involvement with the AAWC began in 1999 as the Association Liaison between the organization and HMP Communications.  At that time, she was the only administrative staff in the organization. She quickly developed a passion and enthusiasm for the organization and its goals. It has been said that she was the glue that held the organization together especially in the early days.

Over the years, the Association has grown and the workings have become more complex. Despite the challenges, Tina persevered and allowed the AAWC to continue to grow. As with any large volunteer organization, the politics within the groups can be difficult. With elected leadership changing every 2 years, she was always facing new challenges with different personalities and new directions. One former president has said that Tina’s biggest challenge was educating a new board president every 2 years! It was Tina’s leadership and unique skills that kept the Board of Directors and task forces on target with deadlines and projects that were continually changing to move the organization forward.

In 2003, the AAWC saw the need for more formal leadership and promoted Tina to executive director and added more administrative help. She did not take her promotion lightly and immediately began taking courses in how to be a better executive director. She joined an association of executive directors so that she could continue to improve her management skills to ensure the AAWC operated at its best.

During the “lean years,” when our membership began to shrink and contributions were decreasing, Tina was the stabilizer when everyone else wanted to panic. Her influence and management skills allowed the organization to survive the lean time and now has achieved its best position ever. Membership is the highest it has ever been, corporate support is
at an all-time high, and the organization is on strong financial ground for the future. All
of this has been due to Tina’s leadership.

After nearly 19 years of leading the AAWC, Tina has decided to move on to new opportunities. It will be very difficult to find a replacement who has the same pride in the Association and dedication to the work that Tina has shown. Her dedication to the AAWC and the wound care community will be sorely missed. I, personally, thank her for all that she has done for the Association and wound care and the invaluable help she provided me during my time as President. The organization as a whole owes Tina a huge debt of gratitude. As noted in the quotation above, Tina was able to grasp the vision and hold tightly to it. The AAWC is the organization it is today because of her.

“To grasp and hold a vision – that is the very essence of successful leadership.”
— Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States

I would like to acknowledge Evonne Fowler, Founder and first president of the AAWC, and Dr. John Macdonald, former president of the AAWC, for their contributions to this Editorial.