An active chapter with many opportunities for networking, CPE and community building
By TIA WRIGHT
Syracuse Chapter President
Hello, and welcome to the Syracuse Chapter! I’m very excited to act as your president for the 2019–2020 year. For those who don’t know, we are an active chapter. We hold many annual events that allow members to network with their peers, enrich the local community and earn quality, low-cost CPE. Our most popular events include the CPAs, Bankers & Attorneys Golf Outing, the Summer Sizzler CPE & Cookout, the Student Awards Dinner and the Tax & A&A Update Conference. Through these events, hundreds of our members participate with the NYSSCPA.
In addition to these events, some of our chapter’s most well-attended events are put on by the NextGen Committee, such as family-friendly outings at a Syracuse Mets baseball game and a Syracuse Crunch hockey game. The Networking/Cocktail Party invites other young professionals to meet and mingle with our young CPAs to begin building professional relationships across industries. Further, each year, our NextGen group coordinates numerous efforts to support our local community, including, a food drive for the Food Bank of Central New York and a back-to-school supply drive for the Elmcrest Children’s Center. We also send volunteers from the NextGen group to assist at the Salvation Army Distribution Day in December.
We have a strong, experienced board this year, with all members returning from last year. I appreciate everyone’s willingness to continue volunteering their time to further the accounting profession through the educational, community and social events we organize and attend. Many of our board members have been active in the Syracuse Chapter and the NYSSCPA for many years. Some, including myself, began as NextGen members (or, more likely, Young CPA members!) and have not stopped. I believe this is because the Syracuse Chapter is truly a network of CPAs working together to move each other and the profession forward. I have had, and continue to have, many mentors throughout my journey in accounting, and I appreciate all of these relationships and people.
If you or someone you know would like to get more involved in the Syracuse Chapter, please feel free to reach out to me, or attend one of our events or board meetings, to see what we’re all about. This would also be a great opportunity for a “younger” CPA to tackle leadership, organizational and networking skills.
Lastly, I want to thank Tim Hammond for the outstanding job he did as our president during the 2018–2019 year. Tim is always advocating on behalf of our membership and the NYSSCPA. He has always been willing to help out with events and answer everyone’s questions. I definitely have big shoes to fill!
I look forward to seeing you at our events!
tiawright@secny.org