APhA PRESIDENT-ELECT JOHN SCHLEGEL WILL TAKE OFFICE JUNE 1, ASSN. SAYS; STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITMENT MADE JOB ATTRACTIVE, SCHLEGEL TELLS DELEGATES

APhA President-elect John Schlegel will begin his tenure in office on June 1, two months earlier than originally planned when he was selected by the assn.'s board in April. In a May 14 announcement, PAhA said that it was moving Schlegel's arrival ahead so that he could get a jump on planning for upcoming assn. activities, including the next annual meeting scheduled for mid-February in San Antonio. The formal decision to advance Schlegel's starting date was made by APhA's board of trustees at a May 10 meeting in Montreal following the assn.'s annual meeting. Interim President Maurice Bectel, who has headed the assn. since the death of William Apple last December, recommended to the board that Schlegel's start be moved forward. Bectel will remain in Washington until August to assist in the transition. APhA's commitment to strategic planning increased the attractiveness of the job of leading the assn., Schlegel noted in remarks to the APhA House of Delegates during the May 5-10 annual meeting. "At the time I was interviewing with the board of trustees for the position, I felt very, very good about the future of the assn. because of the very strong commitment expressed by the entire board to me for the need for strategic planning, and also the discussion that indicated that the board had done quite a bit of planning already," Schlegel said. Strategic Planning Resolution Reflects Proposal For An All-Pharmacy Assn., Strategic Planning Conference "Knowing that an organization as important as APhA had a board of trustees that was so concerned about the future and had so well thought through the issue of strategic planning, I felt that, should I be offered the position, it was the type of organization that I would like to participate in," the newly selected president declared. Schlegel noted that as exec director of the American Assn. of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), he has "been actively working with our board of directors -- AACP's board -- for the last three years in developing a strategic planning process . . . and we have made very, very good progress." Schlegel is currently president of the Natl. Drug Trade Conference, which regularly holds informal meetings at which health profession assn. leaders exchange views on issues of common interest. APhA, which founded NDTC in 1912 but dropped out in the mid-1970s, has sought reinstatement. The newly selected APhA president was responding to a resolution, adopted by the House of Delegates, that the assn. "begin immediately to undertake a strategic planning effort, involving the input and participation of other natl. and state [pharmacy] assn.," in order to address health care delivery and financing issues "The Pink Sheet" May 14, p. 16). Schlegel was given the house floor at the request of APhA Trustee and former California Pharmacists Assn. (CPhA) President Charles Green of Stockton, Calif. The resolution was proposed by current CPhA President Charles Gustafson of Bakersfield. The strategic planning resolution reflects a proposal for an all-pharmacy assn., natl. strategic plannin conference presented in a speech by CPhA Exec Director Robert Johnson to the University of Texas last September. The resolution proposed by CPhA President Gustafson was co-sponsored by the delegations from Texas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Nevada, and Nebraska. The Nebraska Pharmacists Assn. is a new APhA affiliate.