On behalf of the IFIP Executive Committee and the broader IFIP community, General Secretary Anatolii Marushchak thanked Marion Smith for her tremendous contribution to the IFIP Secretariat when she recently departed after 19 years of service.
Mr Maruschak presented her with a gift certificate to relax with her family at one of the best resorts in Baden, Austria.
Ms Smith joined IFIP in September 2005, soon after returning to Austria from a 12 year stay in the United States, eager to use the verbal skills and knowledge she had gained during that time. She was eager to learn and excelled in many roles throughout the years, particularly after her former colleague Ms Brauneis retired, and again when Edward Dundler was approaching his retirement.
While she was covering the secretarial work on her own for several months in 2022, she would jokingly say that each day she wore a different hat, depending on whether she was focused on event management, bookkeeping, fielding requests from Technical Committees and Working Groups, or even handling General Secretary work and working closely with members of the Executive Committee. She handled many other duties as well, ranging from proofreading and updating the IFIP Bulletin and the internal database to loading books into the IFIP Digital Library, among others.
Marion was always happy to help wherever needed, addressing every task with the utmost care and precision.
“We greatly appreciate your personal engagement in supporting the family of IFIP volunteers in achieving the IFIP mission for decades, Marion,” said Anatolii Maruschak. “We wish you good luck in your new endeavors and you will always be a welcome guest at IFIP headquarters!”
