By Don A. Kiamie, Westchester Chapter President

I am proud and honored to serve as your 51st president. When I tell people I am a member of the New York Society of CPAs, there are three things I represent: the Society, CPAs and myself. Although I am an industry member, the Society and “CPA” encompass all CPAs.

I want to thank my family—my wife, Olive, my children, Matthew, Marie and Melinda, their significant others and my granddaughter, Morea—for their support. I also want to thank the members of the Westchester Chapter for electing me as president. This is your CPA profession, your chapter and your Society.

I really look forward to carrying on the torch that has been passed on to me, and to continuing the success of my predecessors. A special thanks to Joe Tax for this past year and for making sure that I was included in the decision-making process, which is making the transition that much easier. Joe, you did a great job.

Jeff Schwartz, I hope that I can do the same for you. Thanks to Allan Rosenberg, Stephen Franciosa, Barbara Bel and the rest of the Executive Board for agreeing to serve with me.

As I look at the forthcoming year, I think of a saying I recently heard on TV: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

There are three things that I believe the Society provides its membership: networking, education and policy making. My goal is to make little changes that will have an influence in each one of these areas. To make this happen I need the support of you, the members, to look at the past, ponder the present and join me in changing the future. Please feel free to call or e-mail me with any suggestions.

Remember, participate in influencing the future. Volunteer your time and change the value of membership and what it means to you and other members. We are, of course, looking forward to having you join us in a great year.

Don Kiamie can be reached at 212-213-2112 or donalbert@mindspring.com.