As I contemplated this Governor's Report this past summer after
returning from my first meeting of the Board of Governors in Toronto, a
bizarre nexus occurred in my mind. I recalled the scene near the end of
the movie The Wizard of Oz in which Dorothy and her friends are finally
at the end of their journey and in the presence of the great Wizard. As
they stand there in awe of the spectacle, the little dog, Toto, goes to
the corner of the hall and pulls back a curtain revealing a man busily
working various knobs and levers. The "wizard" then tells the
supplicants, "Pay no attention to the little man behind the curtain."
"So what does this have to do with MAA?" I wondered. The relevance soon became clear. Some very impressive things are done through the MAA, seemingly by some far-off wizards. But the reality is that the excellent work is done by a bunch of "little folks behind the curtain."
At the meeting in Toronto, I had a chance to sit among these folks behind the curtain, indeed to become one of them. I also came to the realization in a new way, as this image illustrates, that the good things that our organization does result from the contributions of regular people like us.
The MAA is an organization that relies to a very great degree on the effort of volunteers from among the membership to carry out its work. This is true not only at the national level, but also within the Sections. Within the Michigan Section, we have had many contributors to our common work, and this is the reason that we have been successful.
I want to thank the current officers and appointees for their hard work, and also to thank the many members who have contributed to the work of the Michigan Section over the years. I also urge those who believe that what we do is important to express their willingness to get involved and join the team of little folks doing wizardly things.
John O. Kiltinen, Governor, Michigan Section-MAA