YEAR ONE

It’s hard to believe, but when you read this, I will have completed my first full year of service to the PEO industry as NAPEO’s CEO. When everything is new – new colleagues, new office, new members, new issues – it’s hard to wrap my head around encapsulating my first year in a few hundred words. Maybe the right frame is “whirlwind,” but that doesn’t have the right connotation. The truth is, it’s been and continues to be an incredible privilege to work with and for you this year.

Some of you may remember that my wife and sister also run trade associations, and a lot of my friends are part of this club, too. With that backdrop, you can imagine that there is no shortage of words of wisdom when you earn one of these jobs, but what’s true about PEOs (if you’ve seen one, you’ve only seen one), that’s true for associations, too. So, I committed to experiencing all of our offerings, meeting as many of our members as I could, engaging our stakeholders in government and more to approach my job as informed as I could be about what you needed in your association and how we could best deliver on our promise to be your best advocates. Because I knew from experience that change can be disruptive, I was committed to not break anything that didn’t need to be broken.

For the most part, this approach was successful. I spent a lot of time with a lot of you. Together we improved our standing with federal policymakers and regulators, setting ourselves up for a big year in 2025. We made good progress protecting and enhancing the business and policy environment for PEOs through our work in state capitals across the country. And we continued to make gains on PEO comprehension and appreciation through sustained communication with those with the greatest ability to impact our future.

Of course, there’s more I would have liked to get done. I wish I’d had more time with my colleagues in the office. That the relentless work to hold the IRS’ feet to the fire lessened everyone’s frustrations with ERTC delays more. That my efforts to eliminate the Oxford comma from NAPEO content were more successful.

All of these experiences have me better prepared, optimistic and excited about year two, and incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be part of this tremendous industry.

Year One By the Numbers:

• 25 NAPEO trips, traveling 63,875 miles (more than 2.5 trips around the world)
• 36 total trips, traveling 78,393 miles (more than 3 trips around the world)
  • 7 to Florida, 7 to New York, 4 to California, 3 to Texas