Monday was a sad day for all of us on the Sons of Norway HQ staff. During a monthly all-staff meeting, John Lund announced his retirement from the position of CEO after nine and a half years. The announcement came as quite a shock to everyone at Headquarters and I imagine it was a surprise for our board of directors as well.In an e-mail that went out yesterday from International President Dan Rude it was stated:
It is with a great deal of regret that I must inform you that John Lund had decided to retire. We have indeed been extremely fortunate to have John as our CEO for the past 9 years and before that as Legal Counsel. His leadership skills, his people skills, his wealth of knowledge about Sons of Norway and the Norwegian Community, and his great sense of humor will be missed by us all. We retired folks welcome him to our ranks and know he will enjoy retirement as much as we do! John's last day in the office will be July 31, 2009.
President Rude has appointed Fraternal Director Eivind Heiberg as the Interim CEO in accordance with the succession plan that was updated during the recent board meeting this past April. President Rude is also appointing a search committee to begin reviewing candidates for a new CEO.
The last couple of days have been full of of mixed feelings for me. I spent all day yesterday vacillating between being ecstatic about Eivind being appointed Interim CEO (because he’s got a lot of great ideas and is a wonderful guy to work for), and feeling a great sense of loss over John’s departure. I’ve been with Sons of Norway for almost 9 years myself and John has been one of the few constants during my tenure. It’s a difficult thing saying goodbye to that.
I'd like to add to President Rude's comments by saying that John has been a leader and a role model for so many of us at Sons of Norway. His tireless efforts have made Sons of Norway a stronger, better organization for everyone. His constant leadership through good times and bad have been a beacon of stability. But above all, John has been the best role model I ever could have hoped for.
The lessons I've learned from John are legion. Watching John over the years I've learned that it's best to lead by example; to be honest, modest and decisive; to be open to different voices and new experiences because you never know what might learn from them. Above all, I've learned that change can be a good thing; change is life; change is what makes each new day new, and worth getting up for.
That being so, please join me in celebration of all John’s accomplishments and contributions to Sons of Norway, and in wishing him well in his retirement! We’re all going to miss the heck out of him!