By Beth van Bladel, Northeast Chapter President

Editor’s Note: The following excerpts are taken from the President’s Message delivered on May 5, 2003, at the Northeast Chapter’s Annual Officer Installation Dinner.

It has been a really fun and eventful year for the Northeast Chapter, largely due to the dedication of outgoing President Jeff Rosenbaum. Not a meeting or event goes by that Jeff is not in attendance. Ask him for help and he is always willing to roll up his sleeves and get involved. We look forward to Jeff’s continued involvement with our chapter as he joins our board of directors and chairs the Past Presidents Committee.

The Northeast Chapter’s focus in the coming year will be to achieve the following three goals:

Communicate, Educate, Advocate

When we use all the tools available to us to communicate, we will be able to educate our members so they are better prepared to advocate for the Northeast Chapter and our profession.

I. Communicate

Communication will be the responsibility of our Communications Committee.

Under the leadership of Paula Morelli-Czupil, we now have a Communication Committee. This committee’s focus will be to make sure our members are kept informed by utilizing the many tools made available to us by the state Society.
Now this is a two-way street; the Communication’s Committee will make the information available, but it is up to each of us to make the commitment to read and stay informed.

Communication will take place in the following forms:

• Nysscpa.org: The NYSSCPA website contains a section for the Northeast Chapter. Here you will find directories containing contact information for our members, executive committee, board of directors and committees. You also will find our calendar of events, event registration information and articles written by our committees.
• E-mail: E-mail is the least expensive and most timely means of communication. If we do not have your e-mail address, please write it in your membership renewal form or log on to www.nysscpa.org and click the “Change Your Info” link under the Member Resources banner to update your contact information. We will use e-mail to send you reminders of upcoming events.
• Fliers: When planning events, we will mail registration fliers if it is not cost-prohibitive.
• The Trusted Professional: The Northeast Chapter Newsletter section of The Trusted Professional will contain a calendar of events, event registration information and articles written by our committees.
• E-zine: The NYSSCPA’s electronic magazine is e-mailed once a week and is the most current form of communication from the Society (regarding legislative proposals, Society initiatives, etc). You may subscribe at www.nysscpa.org by clicking the “Society Pubs” link at the top of the page.
• The CPA Journal: The Journal is always a great resource for an in-depth review of new rules and regulations impacting our profession.

II. Educate

Education is the responsibility of each of our committees.

Under the leadership of Ron Guzior and Tim O’Connor, we now have an active Cooperation with Educators Committee. This committee’s focus is to create opportunities for high school and college students and educators to learn about our profession and interact with our members.

Under the leadership of Dave Johnson, we will have a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Committee. This committee’s focus is to create opportunities to listen to the CPE needs of our members and communicate those needs to the Foundation for Accounting Education. This is a new committee for our chapter, and if you want to take a more active role in the types of CPE programs offered in our region, please offer your help to Dave.

The rest of our committees (Taxation, Cooperation with Bankers, Members in Industry, Young CPAs, Past Presidents, and Membership) will be asked for their assistance in preparing articles for The Trusted Professional.

III. Advocate

Advocacy is the responsibility of each and every one of us.

Knowledge is power, and advocacy is the power to influence.

Advocacy is best performed with a grassroots effort. Once each of us makes the commitment to be informed, we will be the best representatives to advocate for our chapter and our profession.

Advocacy can take place in many ways:

• By visiting your children’s school and sharing your experiences of what it is like to be a CPA.
• By sharing your views about proposed legislation with a government official.
• By demonstrating your pride in our profession when interacting with the public.
• By reaching out to your firm staff and your clients about the benefits of getting involved with the Northeast Chapter and the NYSSCPA.

Thank you for taking this opportunity to stay connected and become informed. I look forward to working with each and every one of you to achieve these goals.