Having just returned from AMOA's annual budgeting session and a less-frequently conducted Long Range Planning meeting, it underscored the value of dedicating time to think about, discuss, brainstorm, debate and contemplate the current and future environment.

There was considerable pandiculation (the act of stretching oneself) during our gathering in Nashville, Tenn., as AMOA leaders abandoned the status quo to consider ways to enhance membership, leadership, the show, programs and finances.

While the budget recommendations crafted this week will most definitely influence and guide association decisions in 2012, the impact and role of the many ideas that surfaced during the strategic Long Range Planning session remain to be seen.

Like your businesses, AMOA is a work-in-progress — one that has spanned more than 63 years. While the issues change and evolve, the mission remains the same: To serve the interests and needs of the operator segment of the trade.

Point is, we all get caught up in the present — responding and reacting to the world around us. Every once in a while, it's necessary and good to stretch, imagine and question. The group mind-pandiculation exercise in Nashville served as a good reminder of that.