My Retirement

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

At our Annual Meeting in November, my plans to retire from the AAVSO were announced. With yesterday being my last day of work, and a lovely send-off from my fellow employees, I am now a regular AAVSO member and (very occasional) observer, looking forward to having the time to pursue other interests and adventures in life.

However, I can’t step away from my day-to-day involvement without first saying how much I enjoyed and appreciated my 33-year working career at the AAVSO. It was hard work, but also fun and challenging and a huge part of my life for all those years. I learned a lot about MySQL databases, and dabbled in Java, Perl, and Python. I had the privilege to work with many wonderful Directors and Staff who became my family, and at the Annual Meeting in 1996 I even met the member/observer John O’Neill (ONJ) who became my husband two years after we reunited at the Nantucket meeting in 2008.

Most of all, I would like to thank everyone for making my work enjoyable and interesting and inspiring me with your dedication to the AAVSO and to science in general. I will likely continue to hang out in the forums and hopefully see some of you at future meetings.

All the best,
Sara