MEMORANDUM FROM THE CEO

Dear Collegues,

When the media touts only the most negative possabilities, when all around us there is fear and anxiety, both for the people we support and their families, but also for our own employment and working conditions, it is time to take that essential "big step backwards". We need perspective.

For those of you who have worked at MAPCL over the last decade, you have experience to draw upon. The recollections of how we overcame other times when conditions seemed quite grim will sustain you. Now you are the leaders who will give support to those newer team members, perhaps younger, who, with you, represent the future.

Think about it. Throughout difficult times, we have been prepared, quite often, years in advance. Even when circumstances around us have been chaotic, we have remained centered in our philosophy, the Leadership Diamond™ , the ethics it represents, our mission and our values. It has been the responsibility of senior managers to focus on the areas of risk management for the entire agency. We believe that now, as much as ever, we are prepared to not only survive, but to thrive. It is our unity of purpose that allows us to succeed where others might fail.

Our team has a high degree of Trust. We trust each other. CARF has recognized our culture through its many service commendations. It is this trust that allows us to share information with you freely and openly. You are all held in high regard, and while probably most of us can benefit from Continuing Quality Insurance, our commitment to exactly this, keeps us both humble and strong.

We will be talking more and more about Communication. This is an essential piece for all of us and will require us to pay even more attention and become more self-disciplined than ever before. But MAPCL has always been raising the bar, and will continue to do so. As always, we will continue to rise above the Facts, which will always change, t the Truth, which never does.

In appreciation for all that you do,

Jordan Thurston, CEO