As I begin my ONS presidency, I want to acknowledge the challenges and stress we have endured the past two years, which were most likely the hardest years in our careers. We need time to grieve for loss of patients; changes in the nursing profession, including equipment and personnel shortages; and the personal things we have lost that give meaning to who we are—graduations, weddings, memorial services, vacations. It all matters.

Governing ONS—including fiduciary oversight for all investments and budgets and strategic decision-making that secures the future of the organization—is the ONS Board of Directors’ primary role. In even the best of times, it is a serious commitment to govern our complex association, but the unpredictable environment we have experienced since early 2020 has increased that challenge.

As we turn the calendar to the new year, it feels a bit like the film Groundhog Day. Information about the COVID-19 pandemic—and related topics like masks, vaccination, and protecting ourselves and our patients from infection—still dominates the news and the literature. Many areas are struggling with surges in winter cases, and we all feel the personal loss of friends and family, colleagues, and patients and the toll it has taken on our profession. It is, without doubt, a constant presence in our lives.

Leadership is a group activity, and the ONS vision, mission, and core values can be achieved only through full participation of ONS's Board of Directors and other groups. The volunteer members serving as directors-at-large meet at least monthly to achieve the annual objectives, and the Board’s subcommittees—as well as other standing committees of volunteer members outside of the Board—accomplish specific goals. ONS uses two key committees to achieve excellence, quality, and sustainability through leadership: the Board’s Positions Subcommittee and the Leadership Development Committee (LDC).

When ONS Past President Mary Gullatte, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, AOCN^®, LSSYB, FAAN, was elected by her peers in 2012, she said it was the “absolute pinnacle of my oncology nursing career”: Gullatte made the ONS history books as the Society’s first African American president. But the achievement has been just one part of an illustrious, 40-year career in oncology nursing and administration, holding roles like vice president of patient services, chief nursing officer, and director of oncology nursing services throughout the Emory University healthcare system in Atlanta, GA, where she currently serves as the corporate director of nursing evidence-based practice and research.

As this important midterm election approaches, my hope is that all ONS members recognize the importance of raising our collective voices as we elect our next leaders at the local, state, and federal level on November 6. In the words of former First Lady Michelle Obama, “It is more important than ever that we show up to vote, not just this year, but every year and in every election. Every voice must be heard, and every vote must be counted.”

Laura Fennimore, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, professor of acute and tertiary care at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing in Pittsburgh, PA, has been selected as the next ONS president for the 2018–2020 term. She will be president-elect effective January 1, 2018. Fennimore’s appointment is the first under the ONS bylaw changes that were voted into practice by members in 2016. These governance changes provide the ONS Board of Directors the authority to select candidates from among the member-elected directors-at-large to fill officer roles on the ONS Board.