Message From the President

By Phyllis Graybow, Rockland Chapter President

I hope that everybody had a successful tax season and is now looking forward to a much-needed vacation. As I sit down to write this, my last column, I reflect on the past year’s activities and how quickly the time went by.

We attempted some new ideas during the year and also repeated various “tried and true” events. Some of the new concepts that surfaced were the summer breakfast CPE courses, a career recruitment dinner, a small business symposium, meet and greets, and a meeting with the Bar. Most of these were well received and so we will continue to offer them.

Once again we ran our successful networking with professionals, Professor Dyckman’s 1040 Tax Update, our annual IRS/NYS seminar, the golf outing, and the Young CPA holiday party and Toys for Tots fundraiser, and we participated at the Rockland Business Association Expo.

In the three years since our chapter’s inception, I have witnessed huge growth. We have offered a multitude of interesting and varied activities in an effort to appeal to all of our membership. The response has been overwhelming, and attendance at those events has grown exponentially.

In addition, our chapter has become a powerful presence within the community. We have invited local representatives and other important community members to our meetings, and we have been extremely fortunate to have various businesses sponsor our events. We have surely grown into a viable and integral organization within the county; businesspeople and officials are always eager to join in our activities. It is for this reason that we chose to host a dinner in honor of our sponsors in order to express our gratitude for all of the support that they have given us over the years.

In closing, I want to thank my Executive Board for all of the assistance that they have provided to me. I also would like to reiterate to all of our members how very important it is to become active and to get involved in the chapter’s future growth.
Although the presidency was stressful and exhausting at times, I ultimately had an opportunity to meet an awful lot of wonderful people who have enriched my life both professionally and personally. I only hope that I have made a positive contribution also, as I intend to remain active in the Rockland Chapter for many years to come.

Phyllis Graybow can be reached at 845-634-3413 or phyll123@juno.com.

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