msfocusmagazine.org 6 This column, with its dual byline, has been a fixture in every issue of this publication for nearly two decades. It has served as a voice of the MS Focus Co-Executive Directors. For this issue alone, I am departing from that practice and going “solo,” in order to announce that after 28 years of service to this extraordinary organization, the time has come for me to retire. In looking back, I joined this organization at a pivotal moment in its history. We had just expanded the availabilityof ourprograms and services throughout the state of Florida.At the time, something big was just over the horizon. It was heralded as a new means of communication and networking. Yes, the Internet was coming, and we quickly recognized it as a potential tool to expand our outreach to a broader audience of persons affected by MS. Though crude by modern standards, we had already posted what some consider to be the first MS “home page” announcing the availability of our services. It appeared on what was known as a dial-up free-net sponsored by the public library system. Shortly thereafter, the explosion of the commercial Internet and the broad access to information it offered provided us with a new opportunity to serve. We were fortunate to have positioned ourselves in the early going to ride on its coat tails and in having done so, we were quickly transformed into an organization with a national audience. Coincidentally, those years also saw the introduction to market of what would ultimately become a long list of disease-modifying therapies, thus making the need to provide unbiased information even more critical. In time, the scope of our programs and services adapted and expanded to accommodate the needs of our newly growing national community of constituents. The rest is history. Alittle more than a decade later, therewas considerable discussion about the need forimproved communication, coordination, and collaboration between the various national MS advocacy organizations. In response to this need, we – along with two other organizations – took the initiative and spearheaded a movement that would ultimately become the MS Coalition. Other organizations joined not too long afterward. Today, the MS Coalition capably serves our cause and its member organizations. In fact, it is a role model for other health-related causes with its mantra – “One team, one dream.” I am very proud to have been among its founders. Through these many years, I have had the unique privilege and pleasure of having been associated with an extraordinarily talented, compassionate, and dedicated team of professionals. Jules Kuperberg Co-Executive Director All Good Things Must Come to an End