First Reflections—Endings and Beginnings

• May 01, 2026

• Mark Kopson , Plunkett Cooney

I write this column with the end of my AHLA presidential term on the near horizon—a mere 93 days away (at the time of this writing). In many ways, it seems as though I wrote my initial “First Reflections” column only weeks ago and yet, it was 11 months ago when the beginning of my term was on the near horizon. Every beginning is the commencement of a march toward an inevitable ending. What the years have also taught me is that more frequently than not we cannot begin something new without us or someone else first ending something. I could not begin my presidential term until I first completed my own term as President-Elect and my predecessor, Asha Scielzo, completed her presidential tour de force—endings that permitted new beginnings.