August 20, 2026
“If it’s lonely at the top, you’re doing something wrong!”~ John Maxwell
I’ve worked in leadership for most of my life and I’m still learning. I spent several years working directly with John Maxwell as I learned to lead as a program manager in industry and government, but my true leadership interest has always been volunteers. Why? Because volunteer leadership is hard and messy and that’s where we are always learning and growing. From being the Cadet Commander of my high school Civil Air Patrol squadron, to leading a Civil Air Patrol Wing more than a decade later, helping dedicated people so something amazing has always been my passion.
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. ~President John F. Kennedy, 1962
I was two years old when President Kennedy gave that speech. When I was nine when we landed on the moon. I was 42 when I met my hero, Neil Armstrong. He was bitter, depressed, and unhappy. The most famous person in the world was staring into his cocktail glass without a dream left to dream. That day I understood that it’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey.
As makers we have an astounding ability to transform dreams into visions and on to realities and we’ll never run out of dreams! In the months to come I look forward to hearing about your dreams and how we can advance them to enrich you, your families and friends, our community, and who knows, perhaps even the world!
For my part, I plan to see how Makersmiths can enhance our community by contributing to mental health through therapeutic maker projects, strengthen our environment through master naturalist projects, and perhaps even develop new projects based upon our landmark COVID 19 and Desks for Distance projects.
Bring your dreams and let’s see what we can make today!
David Lang
President 2026-27