Dear Fellow IMA Members,

AS YOU HAVE LIKELY HEARD AND READ…..WE HAVE A FIVE-PEAT GOING………

Last June our chapter was awarded another banner, 11th place in the nation.  This makes for 5 consecutive years with banners (top 25 places in the nation receive banners).
We are closing in on and could top our own past chapter “dynasty” of 6 consecutive years of banners from 1991 to 1996.  As you can see, our chapter has a rich history.

We couldn’t have done this without all the collective help from the following “Thank You” list…..

..

Board of Directors:

Our Board of Directors has made sure we have continuity, a necessary piece for accomplishing all that we set out to do.  They are an integral part of helping me get my job done as without their support (and their votes on approving motions on the agenda), then nothing would get done.  Over the years I have been on the Board and before my becoming President, I have seen a slow and natural turnover of Board members.  This makes for a very solid group of people that stay well informed yet when their personal or professional lives call them away, we are usually fortunate enough to have a new board member step in….sometimes a former board member and sometimes a new one.  So, to all the past and present Board members I would like to extend a well deserved thank you for all you have done and all you continue to do.

Speakers

In past years we have had quite the assortment of qualified professionals speak at our dinner meetings.  Certainly we cover a broader area of subject material other than just accounting.  Many of our members in their positions wear many hats and have responsibilities in areas such as Insurance, Human Resources, Information Technology as well as their core responsibility of accounting.  In addition, we have tried to bring in speakers that can give us material for our personal lives like financial planning, estate planning, insurance needs, and many others.  A final area we tried to concentrate on is what I call the current events side of our field.  Topics such as credit card fraud, identity theft, Check 21, and others likely don’t have anything to do with many of our member’s daily work or personal lives, but it is nice to be informed in these areas of interest.  So, to all of our past speakers and those we have already scheduled for this year (we still have some openings if anyone has contacts, send them to me), thank you for all the efforts you have put forth in giving us timely and interesting discussions.

Associates in Practice:

This area is one where we have worked to build relationships with other organizations in order to benefit our members.  We have been affiliated with Cleary University for some time now with the CMA Review classes and they have proved very successful.  The pass rate of these graduates is above 90%. 

Student Chapter and advisors

Our Student Chapter and Advisors have done well over the past several years in not only keeping the Student Chapter thriving with new students, but also in introducing them to the speaker meetings we hold once a month.  The most proven way to increase or maintain a chapter’s membership is to cultivate accounting students who are student members and have them join as regular members at the start of their careers.  For this we say Thank You to all past and present student members and their advisors.

Members

Last but not least, our biggest resource of ideas, experience, contacts, networking, and information comes from all of our members.  Without them joining, maintaining their membership, coming to meetings, and going on tours, we wouldn’t have a chapter.  So an especially fond Thank you to all of our members.

Now, the month of September will get us back into the swing of our normal monthly meetings every 3rd Thursday of the month. We have all had a wonderful summer as well as a lengthy Labor Day Holiday, we should be ready to race through the next three months of meetings.

Now, in our Chapter year 2009-2010 we have a full schedule of meetings and speakers ahead of us, PLUS a new list of menu selections at our host restaurant, The Carlyle Grill.  We welcome everyone to enjoy a night out, earn some CPE, meet with old friends, and learn from our many speakers’ discussions.  See you at the next meeting