If you have not already, you will shortly be receiving a ballot for this year’s election. You will note that you are being asked to elect three Directors for three-year terms each. Please take the time to review the ballot material carefully, paying particular attention to the candidate statements, and to vote for the candidates of your choice.
In this important time of transition for our organization, it is vital that we have informed and involved leadership. Members of the Board of Directors are instrumental in developing the programs and policies that will guide our organization for many years. Some of the candidates running for office have served on our Board of Directors for a few years or longer, but all of the candidates listed are, by virtue of running, expressing their willingness to serve. I urge you to give them all the benefit of reviewing the information they have submitted, and to vote.
To ensure maximum accuracy and timeliness, we are for the first time using an outside contractor to handle our elections. Please read the instructions for voting carefully and, as always, if you are unsure of anything, please give us a call at 1-800-404-2898.
All of our members are an important part of our present and future, and we need everyone’s participation on whatever level as we move forward. It would be most gratifying if this year’s election were to result in the largest number of votes cast to date. One way to ensure this is to not put off voting and to cast your vote the moment you receive the ballot.
Another piece of mail you will be receiving from us this month is notification concerning our annual meeting. In this area, we will be trying something new this year also. We will be holding the annual meeting simultaneously at three locations-Buffalo, New York, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Jackson Heights (Queens), New York-as well as through the web. Members will therefore be able to attend either by traveling to one of the meeting sites or via the Internet from their home computer. Members wishing to participate via the Internet will need to pre-register. Again, you will receive detailed instructions, but if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call us at the above 800 number.
We are quite excited to test this new technology and look forward to greater membership participation in our annual meeting. We also hope to be able to use this new method for future meetings, for opportunities to inform/educate members on specific issues, and for generally improving communication with our membership.
As of this writing, we are working hard on preparing our budget for next year. We have invited staff to come up with ideas on better ways to work together to serve you. Many exciting ideas have been submitted, and we are working diligently to find the funding to put as many of them into effect as possible. As we expand our membership, the need to develop new programs is growing fast, and we are doing our best to keep up. Our membership numbers have increased dramatically since January. From a base of a little less than 2,500, we now have over 2,900 members. I’m happy to report that one of our newest members is an old friend, Gordon Mansfield, Deputy Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs. We welcome Gordon, and all our newest members.
Gerard M. Kelly
Executive Director
