Bill Boyd--recognized this year as one of MPI's "50 Legacy Contributors"--shares, in his own words, some of his illustrious history with the association.

Thanks for this recognition and honor, if undeserved. I joined MPI in 1979 to assist with the international conference coming to Dallas. Being active in a very small chapter, it was very easy to move quickly up the officer list!

After serving as almost everything, I became the president of the MPI Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter in 1988, the year we won Chapter of the Year for the first time. From there, I moved on to become active on the international level (of course, back then, we called it “international,” but, in reality, it included Canada).

I served as international president from 1994 to 1995 after serving a few years on the IBOD. During my tenure, we developed the European Council with special emphasis on developing European chapters.

In 1997, I was awarded International Supplier of the Year. Remaining active in the years since has been easy up until my retirement in 2016, after which time I rather faded into the sunset.

MPI was important to me for many reasons but for three main reasons:

1. It provided me a continuing resource for education, especially CMP and CMM.

2. The friendships I have made over the years have become lasting and dear to me.

3. It was my professional home from 1979-2016 where networking was the big buzz word.