A registered nurse for 50 years, my first ONA membership in District 10 was a graduation gift from my aunt Lillian Hartwell, also a nurse and Miami Valley grad. By the way, she also delivered me during a blizzard with my grandmother who was a lay confinement nurse. My career, like many nurses, has been rich and varied. Psych nursing, community health, teaching and administration. I've served on many nursing and hospital boards; the Ohio Board of Nursing, ONA, Sigma Theta Tau International, Doctors Hospital, Nationwide Childrens, Lutheran Social Services and Heinzerling Foundation. My advocacy for nursing and the public is that an appropriately educated and empowered nurse workforce will practice on a growing evidence base in appropriately staffed settings in which professional respect and interdisciplinary teamwork are the norm.