In an announcement on Mar. 21, PHCC President Skip Flatten cited the associations "recent turmoil," as the reason for the board's decision, and said it was "in the best interest of the association's membership."

"Unfortunately, the association is not rebounding as fast as anyone would like," Flatten said in his statement to the PHCC's approximately 4,000 members. "It is time for a fresh start."

In the interim, the acting CEO will be Gerry Kennedy, who was hired in 1997 as PHCC Vice President of the Education Foundation, and acted as its chief operating officer.

The 117-year-old PHCC has encountered turmoil from dues restructuring, membership issues and other problems that have plagued the association for years. With several new programs - such as its expanding Professional Product Line, which began in 1997 - the organization has counted on doing more with less.

A heated business meeting in Nashville in October had several state associations threatening to leave the national organization. Membership had been on a decline, and the new dues structure reverted to the amount charged to PHCC-NA members prior to the 1998 convention in Toronto, when it was determined the association couldn't support its activities.

"I think everyone regrets the recent problems," said Inlow, who was hired in 1989 as the association's CEO. He reported that he is "very proud of the many accomplishments" that were made during his term in office.

At its 2000 Spring Leadership Conference, the Board agreed to contract with a professional search firm to help advertise, screen and interview applicants, and recommend three finalists to the Executive Committee. They hope to have a new CEO hired by the June 23-24 Board of Directors meeting.