As our LMA community continues to process the loss of our friend and colleague Ian Turvill, we have seen an outpouring of emotion and ideas on how best to honor his memory. Many of us knew Ian well and his passing has had a profound personal impact. Others met him or recognize him as a prominent face in the LMA from his many contributions to the organization. And there’s a group who never had the good fortune to meet Ian, but are feeling a sense of loss simply by association to our tight-knit community.
What is consistent is the positive impression that he left on everyone that crossed his path. As we always do, the LMA community has already been tremendous in sharing personal stories, offering individual anecdotes about Ian, and proposing ideas on how best to honor his memory.
In the short term, we have been working closely with his firm and family to offer LMA’s assistance for his memorial services this week. There’s no doubt that there will be a large show of LMA support at the public events honoring him, especially from his friends in the Midwest Region who worked closely with him for so many years.
In the longer term, we are considering many ideas on how we memorialize his impact on our organization. Working with his family and coordinating with his firm, we will ensure that in some small measure, our actions moving forward will capture the impact that Ian continues to have on our community.
Thanks to everyone who has already offered ideas about how we move forward as an organization. Please do not hesitate to reach out directly to either of us or to our Executive Director, Betsi Roach, to share your thoughts. As ideas take shape in the coming weeks, we will continue to communicate with our membership through our website. In the meantime, please continue to keep his family, friends and colleagues in your thoughts and prayers.