On May 21st, the Hand Therapy Certification Commission's beloved executive director Mary C. Kasch, OTR/L, CHT, FAOTA lost her courageous battle against cancer. Mary was one of the six founding members of the American Society of Hand Therapists, she was a true visionary for the profession and a stellar representative for the hand therapy community at large. She was president of ASHT in 1984 and was the first president of HTCC when it became it's own certifying organization in 1987. She served as president of HTCC from 1987 until she became HTCC's Executive Director in 2001. She has served as Executive director of HTCC for the past eleven years.

Mary will be deeply missed by her friends and colleagues who are many. Her knowledge of certification processes combined with her desire to ensure quality care fueled her passion to encourage all eligible therapists to become certified hand therapists. She was dedicated to developing resources and systems so that qualified therapists can achieve this goal. She was a mentor to so many of us and could always be counted on to give an honest opinion and to be fair and respectful. She could prioritize, organize and make any job more efficient along the way. Her dedication was unparalleled and her contributions will ensure that HTCC is a leader for years to come.

While we mourn Mary's loss we can only celebrate a life well lived. I know for myself and so many of her friends and colleagues that we will find ourselves asking in the days and years ahead, "what would Mary do?".

Mary wished for contributions to be made in her honor to one or more of the following organizations:

• The Sacramento Choral Society
• The American Hand Therapy Foundation
• The American Friends Service Committee

Lynnlee Fullenwider OTR/L, CHT

President, HTCC