By George T. Foundotos, CPA

In the last five months, I have traveled around the state three times. My trips were to introduce our new executive director, Lou Grumet, and the Uniform Accountancy Act. It became obvious that we were not serving all our members and constituencies.

The Society knew this, but it hit home this time. We were making a real concerted and impassioned effort to reach you. The purpose was to inform you and request your opinions on crucial matters. But we did not succeed to the extent we wanted and you deserve.

Through our visits, special conferences and focus groups, and this new vehicle, The Trusted Professional, we spread the word. By face to face discussions, e-mail, and regular mail we heard from about 1,500 of you.

However, we may not have reached the major areas and constituencies.

If you look at the accompanying map, some of the chapters cover enormous geography. We hardly see the people from the North Country, above Albany, Utica, and Syracuse. Our membership south of Buffalo, west of Binghamton and east of Port Jefferson is like the lost tribes. And of course, there is the "metro group," which contains 45 percent of our membership; or northern New Jersey, which could be our second largest chapter; or those true lost souls--the 40 percent in industry, government and education.

Well, the time has come, said the walrus, to talk of many things, including how to activate our members and bring them all into the fold. I do not want to spend $9,000 sending a mailer to the 13,000 people in the metro area, hoping some would respond.

I am forming a task force to look at our existing 11 chapters and the boundaries. It will be charged with looking at the demographics, distances, and the like to determine their relevance in today's environment. We may wind up with different boundaries or more chapters. I hear that Brooklyn is a hotbed of secession.

Not to worry, chapter people. Many of the task force members will come from the chapters--mostly upstate, and also from the metro area. The group will include seasoned members and our younger peers.