One of the better things about year endings is that they signify new beginnings. With another year about to begin, I must confess there have been times in the last few weeks when I have convinced myself that we have moved into 2015 already.

For the AHRI board and the management team, 2014 has been a year of discovery and reflection, and is ending with a sense of urgency to get moving on our reinvigorated perspective of the HR profession and our more sharply-defined direction for the future of the institute.

We have tried to keep you informed of developments in our thinking during the year, and I hope this new HRM online communication media has assisted in doing that.

Next year will see a significant bolstering of our offerings in professional development that will be founded on a refreshed model for HR certification. It will also be a year in which we expect to better target our research efforts and to substantially improve the tailoring of our member offerings as we bring on board a new member database in the second quarter.

For now I would like to wish you and your loved ones well over the Christmas–New Year season and trust that you will be with us for the ride in 2015.