“Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” –

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When I first heard that Mark Twain quote, I wasn’t sure what it meant. I was fairly certain it didn’t apply to working in tobacco fields during middle school, baking bagels at Bruegger’s in North Hills Mall in high school or serving as an obituary or crime reporter at the Greensboro News & Record.

Who would have thought it would be something called an “association professional”? That you could actually get certified to do it, make a good living at it and not just enjoy, but absolutely love it?

After five years at the NC Association of REALTORS®, having earned my Certified Association Executive (CAE) and completed the Institute for Organization Management (IOM), I knew, and Tim Kent knew, that I was ready for my next challenge.

Tim often said the lifespan of a CEO is about ten years. By then, you’re ready for a new challenge and your board is ready for new ideas. While I wasn’t yet a CEO, I was ready to make the leap into association executive leadership.

Because Tim encouraged his staff to be deeply involved in their professional associations, I had become active in the Association Executives of North Carolina (AENC). When I learned that the current executive director, who had been in the role less than two years, was moving on, I sensed this might be my opportunity.

My first conversation, of course, was with Tim.

He was not only supportive, but as a past president of AENC, he put in a good word for me with several board members and search committee members. Eventually, I landed the role and went on to serve as executive director of AENC for (you guessed it) about ten years.

And during that entire time, I continued to lean on Tim.

Whether it was staffing decisions, governance challenges or navigating the “Great Recession” of 2008, his counsel was steady and wise.

One of the biggest leadership lessons I carried with me from Tim was this: let data drive decisions. When he first became CEO of NCAR, he developed a short set of questions he consistently asked members when he first arrived on the scene. He spoke with every stakeholder who would give him time. He encouraged staff to do the same.

I brought that same mindset to AENC. I regularly asked our members what they valued most and where we could improve. Tim never accepted the association mantra of “We’ve always done it that way.” Instead, he constantly asked, “What can we do to make it even better?”

Eventually, I left AENC to join the world of Association Management Companies (AMCs). And once again, Tim was the first person I called. Even though we weren’t working closely together anymore, his voice remained with me as I guided other associations toward achieving their missions.

Not long into my AMC role, I heard that my successor at AENC had not worked out and the board was beginning another search. Several people reached out to gauge my interest in returning.

I won’t lie. I actually thought about it.

But it was in a pool at the AENC Annual Conference in Williamsburg where I asked Tim what he thought about me coming back. In his direct, candid way, he asked, “Why would you go back and do something you already know you can do? Where’s the challenge? Where’s the professional growth?”

He was right.

I chose not to pursue the role and remained in the AMC space for another seven years. And when I was ready for my next move, my first call, once again, was to Tim. I was torn between two opportunities and ultimately chose to stay in the AMC world.

We lost TK in November 2024.

From my early days in Boy Scouts, I was taught to leave the world better than you found it. It’s more than fair to say that Tim Kent did exactly that.

I look at the many successful professionals who grew in his wake, and I’m proud. Proud to have sailed in waters he captained. Grateful to have had him as a mentor. Even more grateful to have called him a friend.

And now, as I launch Tying It Together Consulting, I carry his lessons forward.

This business is my way of giving back what was given to me over the past 25 years — investing in leaders, strengthening associations, and always asking, “How can we make it even better?”