When I started ERE Media, the parent company of The Fordyce Letter, back in October 1998, it was a labor of love.

I was a 23-year-old, and spent every spare moment after my day job thinking about how to grow my hobby into something real. When we launched the first ERE Expo, I wore a suit and glasses so people would think I was older than I was. I’m pretty sure that nobody was fooled.

Next month will mark ERE’s 14th anniversary. The company now operates four brands (ERE.net, TLNT.com, Sourcecon.com, and Fordyce), and has become the preeminent source of information for the recruiting profession. Thanks to TLNT and the Transform conference, our footprint among HR and talent management professionals is rapidly growing as well.

The team is the best in the business, and has been working together for years. I’ve had Lasik surgery, and wore jeans to the seven conferences that we produced last year.

Ron Mester named new CEO

In short, the company has matured. Despite my best efforts, so have I. It’s an exciting and important time in the recruiting/HR world, and it’s the right time for ERE to step up with new ideas, new information, and new services – things that will help us continue to better serve our community. I’ve also discovered that even though this company feels like a part of who I am, I like being the underdog more than I like running the show.