Last year, we lost Annette Schaich, an active board member during her current tenure. This was the first time such an occurrence happened within our association, and the loss was exceptional. In addition to serving as ACT Board president from 2010-2013, Annette had served on the board continuously since 2007 and remained a vital force until her passing just after Interact 2024. She was knowledgeable, insightful, discerning and tenacious, and she brought both seasoned and fresh perspectives to the table. She was generous with her time. She not only spearheaded but worked diligently on diverse and complex initiatives—social media outreach, CEU programs, training tutorials, website redesign, branding development, and many more—always keeping the mission and goals of ACT in the forefront. Annette’s incredible curiosity and far-flung connections consistently opened up whole new avenues for Interact program content and speaker lineups.

To honor her, we are establishing the Annette Schaich Changemaker Award, which will be presented at Interact each year. This award will celebrate individuals who, like Annette, are true changemakers. We are currently working on specific criteria for selecting recipients. This will be an annual occasion to take pause, remember Annette, recall her contributions, recognize another exceptional member of our community, and be inspired.