President's Message
Hello Everyone:
I hope everyone is having a great summer! Once again I would like to thank the Chapter for the faith you have shown in re-electing me to a second term as your President, and for voting to approve the board structure changes which took effect in May 2005. These changes have helped continue moving our chapter forward and making it one of the best chapters in the ALA.
Here is a quick update on various areas of our Chapter since May 1 st:
- The Chapter has just completed its first audit by Alexander, Aronson and Finning. We have received an unqualified audit. The chapter is very healthy financially;
- Membership continues to grow, currently over 185 members. The Membership Committee is working on many new initiatives and benefits for potential members, new members and long term members.
- Vendor support also continues to grow. We recently had record setting attendance for members both in the golf tournament in June (thank you Paul Masuret) and at the Annual Summer Social (thank you Liz Ounanian and Peggy Binder). The Summer Social had over 150 members and sponsors in attendance;
- Programs continue to get better and better, delivering excellent educational benefits to our members. Please click here to view all upcoming events;
- The managing partner lunch was a great success, with Howard Putnam as our Keynote Speaker. We are currently planning our 2nd Annual All Day Educational Program, scheduled for November 17, 2005 at the new Boston Convention Center. You will be receiving more information about this in the near future. As a reminder, the chapter has 4 scholarships it will be awarding on August 22nd to the upcoming ALA Region 1 & 2 meeting in Washington D.C. on September 23 and 24 (click here to get more information on the conference: ) If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please click here ;
- The Community Relations Committee has started their all year program for our Chapter Charities. The Committee has seen continued success, starting with fundraising at the golf tournament and signing up 32 volunteers at the recent Summer Social for this year's Community Challenge Weekend in October 2005. They are also planning a silent auction at the 2nd Annual Educational Conference;
- Finally, the Communications and Web Committee continues to refine and improve our website. They are looking for ways to improve communications throughout the chapter, and are currently developing a quarterly newsletter.
As you can see, there is a lot of activity going on within our Chapter. I would like to thank the new board, and all the committee members for their dedication and hard work to make the 2005-2006 year the best ever. I also want to thank our sponsors. Without their support, all of the above accomplishments would have been very difficult.
Sincerely,
Christopher O’Sullivan
President-Boston Chapter