In January 1974, I flew to Melbourne, Australia to present, for the first time, a paper at the assembly of the International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSOInternational Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO)). I was thrilled to meet in Melbourne leading oceanographers from around the world, and after this meeting I made a vow to attend the biannual IAPSOInternational Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO) assemblies in the future. In 1975 I presented another paper at the general assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) in Grenoble. Every four years, IUGG brings together the eight sister associations of earth and space science that comprise IUGG. After attending these assemblies for three decades, I was invited to join the IAPSOInternational Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO) executive as a vice president in 2003. It was time to “give back” and take my turn to help organize these international conferences in the future. I served as president of IAPSOInternational Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO) and a vice president of IUGG during 2007–2011, which was both a rewarding and challenging experience. I enjoyed developing friendships and collaborations with scientists from many countries, and I worked hard to establish programs and projects which brought together oceanographers and climate scientists from all continents.