David, Cynthia, why have you continued to be a part of the APS Member community for nearly ten years of programming?

Not only has APS met the standard it set at the outset, but it also delivered opportunities to meet people that we otherwise might not have come together with. We find the mutuality of respect becomes a good platform for us to share ideas, hear new thoughts, gain a new respect for the life experiences that give people opinions that vastly differ from ours, and yet we discover our values and our goals are often very much the same. That's a discovery that keeps us coming.

What would you tell others about the APS experience?

Our political system will not be a source of social progress unless good people, energized and open-minded people, participate in it. When that happens, there is a good reason for hope. Try one session of APS – even if it's not a topic you think you would have interest in. Give it a try. Hope is not a strategy. Hope is the energy of strategy, however, and when you attend APS events, you may very well find your hope is energized. That's a pretty good deal because when that happens, there are all sorts of things you will find yourself doing to make a difference.

What else do you want to tell us about your nearly ten years of being involved with APS?

It's fun, but not frivolous; it's engaging, but not hard work. Most of all, the people who participate seem to have a wonderful sense of humor, but it is not laden with the cowardly tone of sarcasm that so often characterizes political punchlines these days. And for those of us who are not necessarily wise but do categorize themselves on the actuarial tables as elders of the crowd, the energy and imagination of the young people participating in this process can be nothing less than inspiring.