Dear Garret,
Please allow me to thank you and your entire INFORMS Open Forum team very much for your excellent work for the benefit of our OR-MS community of INFORMS and worldwide, and especially for your dedication to the INFORMS Connect Champions!
Being part of this group is an immense gift! Yes, it was a very big surprise, and it has been and continues to be a wonderful and refreshing experience!
My affiliation has greatly broadened my horizons in OR-MS and Analytics over the past few years-be it through highly stimulating topics, new and unique knowledge, the latest developments and results in INFORMS and its journals, the spirit of encouragement and guidance, and indeed, the further shaping of my own personality. It has allowed me to be part of a remarkable success story alongside esteemed scholars and enthusiastic young people from all over the world, deepening my connection to the USA and its people. Furthermore, it has given me the opportunity to contribute to the development of OR-MS and Analytics and to solve pressing problems not only in OR-MS and Analytics, but also in humanity and all of creation, at an absolutely world-class level.
As you may have noticed, in my role as an INFORMS Connect Champion, I've often included short, focused introductions of the work of my research colleagues and former or current students in my own posts and replies to others. I've even actively involved these friends in my replies to posts and posters. In a way, this has created a new didactic or educational method for our youth.
Finally, in all these ways and many more, my role as an INFORMS Connect Champion has helped me to better serve INFORMS and its members, to more harmoniously integrate this service with my responsibilities in EURO and IFORS-for example, for EURO, IFORS, and INFORMS conferences, in IFORS News, and in the IFORS Developing Countries Online Resources-and to elevate the performance of my duties to an even higher level.
For this, I would like to thank you all again from the bottom of my heart!
For the future, I wish you and the entire OR-MS and Analytics community, especially INFORMS,
all the very best, much joy in all your tasks, good health and strength,
God's blessings,
Willi
------------------------------
Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber
Professor
Poznan University of Technology
Poznan
------------------------------