I just returned from the National Nursing Staff Development Organization (NNSDO) Annual Convention in Boston. As always, it was a great time-from the lovely hotel and impressive convention center to the educational sessions and the networking. The JNSD Editorial Board held its annual meeting and generated lots of new ideas for the journal, about which you'll be hearing more.

I also taught Writing for Publication to a very enthusiastic audience, numbering about 30. As always, I was amazed at the ideas that individuals shared during the workshop. The few individuals who volunteered to share their ideas received helpful feedback from other participants. I only wish we had sufficient time for everyone to share an idea and learn from their colleagues' perspectives.

By far, the highlight this year was the Annual Business Meeting-no, not the presentation on NNSDO's activities or the acknowledgment of Board members' departure following their terms in office or recognition of staff and their contributions to the success of the organization's activities and its convention. No, the most exciting news for me was the change of the organization's name and the branding efforts that will accompany that change.

At the time I founded NNSDO in 1989, I suggested several names for the fledgling organization. The Steering Committee (Karen Kelly Thomas, Kathleen Fischer, Sandy Holmes, Jan Ward, and Judy Warmuth) chose the name "National Nursing Staff Development Organization" to reflect the state of the art in the specialty at that time. The logo for the organization was developed with input from the members; indeed, it was a member who designed the logo in response to a contest we held.

Over the past 23 years, the organization has grown and prospered and become more and more influential in the nursing community. The impact of NNSDO is recognized throughout the nursing profession. The development of the Scope and Standards for Nursing Professional Development in 2010 in collaboration with the American Nurses Association was a watershed moment for staff development. Truly, we had come of age. Publication and dissemination of the Institute of Medicine report on the future of nursing, also in 2010, cemented the immense contribution to be made in health care by nursing professional development specialists.

So, the current NNSDO Board of Directors undertook the task of reviewing the organization's name to ensure that it reflected the current state of the art, much as we had done so many years ago. Following a year-long study and involvement by NNSDO members at every step, the Board unveiled the new name and logo at the Annual Business Meeting. All of us present were wowed by the name, although those of us who voted on the bylaws changes in May had a sneak peek.

The new name is the Association for Nursing Professional Development or ANPD. I understand that there will be a "bridge" year, during which the designation will be "ANPD, formerly NNSDO" until everyone from within the organization as well as all of our stakeholders outside the organization are familiar with the new name.

But the logo was a complete surprise, and what a grand one at that! I wish I could draw it for you here, but I'm sure you'll be seeing it soon. Both the design and the colors are splendid. It's bold, contemporary, professional, and will quite nicely propel us into our exciting future.

I hope you'll join me in celebrating this giant step for the organization and the specialty. We've come a long way, baby, and these changes reflect how far we've come-and how far we'll go!