Presidential spotlight: Dialoguing the possible-creating a public record of CSCA challenges, lessons learned, and envisioning the future

When I was asked to write a Presidential Spotlight, I could not imagine doing it without Chad Edwards, who served as Executive Director in my First Vice Presidential planning year in 2019 in Omaha and during my Presidential year that was the conference cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I texted with Chad on nearly a daily basis across these two years because of the opportunities and serious challenges we faced in our roles serving CSCA. There was no way I could reflect on and write about this time in our organization's and my personal history without Chad by my side again, this time as a co-author. Additionally, through these two years and endless conversations, we have become bonded for life, as life-long friends and chosen brothers forged through our experiences together resulting in a fierce loyalty and deep love. So, through this reflection, "I" (Chad McBride) will sometimes speak in first, singular person and refer to Chad (Edwards), and sometimes "we" will speak in first person together.