The IWMF Board of Trustees announced today the resignation of IWMF President Judith May, to be effective November 15, 2012. The third IWMF President, Judith followed in the footsteps of President Ben Rude. Arnold Smokler, who founded the IWMF, was the first President.

Judith May was elected to the first IWMF Board of Trustees in 1998. Led by Arnold Smokler, the original Trustees established the Foundation's mission and the Board's infrastructure of committees and policies that led to the development of the Foundation as we know it today. During her first seven years on the Board, Judith held the position of Vice President for Research and was elected President on February 5, 2005, following the sudden death of President Ben Rude.

After serving on the Board for fifteen years, Judith informed the Board of Trustees at their July 2012 meeting of her desire to resign from the full-time volunteer position in order to spend more time with family and friends, traveling, working with her husband to design a vacation home in Mexico and playing the cello. To honor Judith's desire to step back, the IWMF Board of Trustees has accepted the resignation of their third president with heartfelt appreciation for all that she has achieved in leading the expansion of the Foundation within the United States and internationally.

A succession plan was announced and agreed to at the July meeting of the IWMF Board of Trustees. According to this plan, Carl Harrington will be elected to the position of IWMF President at the October 2012 meeting of the IWMF Board of Trustees. Carl is currently the Vice President for Fundraising and has been on the Board for three years. Carl and Judith will work together to assure a smooth transition between now and November 15, 2012.

Judith will continue to assist the Board as she will assume a new position of IWMF President Emerita and will be involved in fundraising and interactions with other cancer organizations and corporations to assist in developing partnerships for the IWMF. She will also be available as a consultant and as the institutional memory of the Foundation to assist the Board of Trustees when needed.

The Board plans to honor Judith's fifteen years of service at their October meeting and for this occasion encourages members to mail their letters, notes, thanks, and remembrances to the IWMF Business Office (address: 6144 Clark Center Ave., Sarasota, FL 34238) or post them on this website.

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