Thank you, Gail.  It has been a real pleasure working with Gail, Ysabel, Headquarters staff, and the entire NPC team this past year to plan this meeting.  And after the opening reception last evening, by now I’m sure you’ve realized that while we take our business seriously, we are not adverse to having a lot of fun in the process!
	The Catch the Wave theme for our meeting really captured my imagination this year.  The following words in a travel article about Hawaii seemed written just for me -  "The waves had a pulse, driven by an invisible heart.  Many times I missed that rhythm, and watched a wave lift me up and pass me by without hooking my board into its curve.  Other times I hesitated, and the water smashed over me.  But a couple of times I hit the timing just right, and finally understood what it means to catch a wave.  There was an undeniable magic to it."