This week, Marshall Kath hands over the reins to a new NAPSLO president. To hear Mr. Kath tell it, in many respects it took little effort to lead an already well-oiled organization.

"I was handed an ongoing, living body of work and had a year in which I was part shepherd, part steward," said Mr. Kath, director of industry relations at Black/White Associates in Henderson, Nev., and former CEO of Colemont. "The good news is the weight of what needs to get done doesn't just get dumped at the door of the president. Really, the work is constantly ongoing-- you're just providing guidance and direction when and where you may be asked."

More specifically, Mr. Kath called the existing infrastructure--the organization's full-time staff based in Kansas City, its committees and the executive board--"a pretty effective and efficient machine."