As my year serving as President begins to wind down, I can’t help but begin to think about what the Chapter has achieved and my appreciation for the people that have done it. My goal was to inspire volunteerism.
As our Membership committee will tell you – the best way to get the most of out of your membership is to put the most into it – Get involved! To start, we are getting ready to unveil a new and improved website. Thank you to Haley Conover for leading this huge effort!
2017-18 has been a strong year for the Chapter, beginning with fundraising. Our sponsors were involved and extremely generous, providing the second highest year of sponsorship in Chapter history, and I would like to celebrate this and the folks that led this effort. Thanks again to all our sponsors, to Laura Shaw, and to her team – fantastic job!
Our commitment to the Ronald McDonald House continued and grew. Thanks again to the Community Outreach Chair Mark Cimerro, Co-Chair Ed Boyle, and the participants to that event. We also had another year of growth in support of our Toys for Tots Drive and the March Madness event that benefits the Boys and Girls Clubs. Impressive!
Truly enjoyed the Member Appreciation event at the Angus Barn Pavilion. Angel Bond and Michael MacDonagh continue to support the Chapter at a very high level through their planning of this and other events too numerous to list- thank you!
The Professional Development Committee was busy. Cris Karasek represented us at Advocacy Day in September 2017, supporting the national efforts to advance the profession through greater visibility at the Federal level. Our Chapter also hosted an extremely well attended FMP class with 12 students, one of which traveled from Charlotte. Well done and thanks again to Buck Fisher for spearheading the effort and lending his skills to teaching it!
We had a very strong year of programs. I think we can all agree that support from Jeremy Logue and that Committee has made our luncheons not only informative, but also entertaining. Great job! Our Professional Member Only – Speaker Series continues to evolve. This year the Chapter moved from a single event to three, with the first two hosted by Terracon and PMC/Haworth. Looking forward to our last of the series slated for June and hosted by Carolina Restoration Services.
Our annual Mike Bradley Memorial IFMA Foundation Golf Tournament was another success, which will again position our Chapter as one of the largest single scholarship donors in the nation. Thank you Golf Committee and Volunteers!
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow board members and our team that makes it happen each and every month that may not have been listed above but are essential. Thanks again for a great 2017-18. Here’s to next month where your incoming board and committee leaders will begin planning an even better year ahead!
Robert Sunukjian
President 2017-2018
