Carol A. Edelen Message |
January 1995
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have supported me and for the many offers of help that I received at the Fall Conference. They are all greatly appreciated. There will be lots of questions as I proceed through the next year and I will be calling on many of you, and I'm sure, especially on Carmine, for more help and suggestions. I will do my best to be a good President and to fulfill by duties, attempting to continue in the same vein as my predecessors.
I want to take this opportunity to extend a personal thank you and a thank you from the entire membership to Carmine Artone for two excellent conferences in Richmond and Ocean City. The Spring conference in Richmond set a record for the largest number of people registered; he then beat his own record with 150 registered in Ocean City! Everything was planned very well at both sites and went off without a hitch. Carmine's choices of meals were excellent and I heard a lot of outstanding comments about both of the conferences. Thanks also go to Ken Smith for the two excellent Speakers' Programs he put together, which probably had a lot to do with the number of members attending. Tim Hahn also did a great job with the vendors. We had almost-record numbers at both conferences. As I said at the Banquet, many of the vendors are no longer just vendors to us. Many have become friends to many of us, and we greatly appreciate the support they give our Division. We look forward to seeing them again in '95.
Credit for the attendance at meetings, of course, must ultimately go to you, the members who attend. Many of you take your vacation days to attend and pay your own way, without compensation from your employers. This shows your dedication not only to the CBD-IAI, but to your interest in your profession, and you are to be commended. Please let me know during the next year what can be done to keep you coming and encourage other members to attend the conferences.
I departed somewhat from tradition this year and asked Randy Goodwin to serve as the official at the Swearing-In ceremony. I consider Randy a good friend and have a lot of respect, as I know all of you do, for all that he does for the Division. I want to again thank Randy for the honor of having had him swear all the Officers in for the upcoming year.
Another very big thank you goes to our Editor, Barbara Pase, for the outstanding job she has done for several years. I am sure none of us can appreciate the amount of time Barbara spends putting together the two editions of the "Examiner" each year. She has a very busy work schedule and given many, many hours of her "free" time to us, and we all owe her a BIG thank you! A reminder though, she need your input. She can't do it all on her own. She needs articles, case histories, processing techniques, notes of a personal nature (promotions, retirements, change of offices/job titles) etc. Please send Barbara anything you can to make her job easier. Also, please remember to keep Randy informed of any address changes so Barbara can get the "Examiner" to you with the least amount of trouble.
There were many groans of disappointment at the Banquet when Carmine announced that Craig and Kathy Rich were not going to be our hosts at the Hospitality Suite any longer. Craig and Kathy have done a outstanding job for several conferences - going above and beyond the call of duty by having hot snacks, great variety and always lots of smiles for everyone. We will all miss having them as our Hospitality Suite host and hostess at the upcoming conferences, and I again want to thank them for the great job they have done so many times! John Bowman, one of our Past Presidents, has said earlier that if new hosts were ever needed, he and his wife, Jan, would be interested in filling the "job". I have asked them to be our new Hospitality Suite host and hostess, and they have very graciously agreed to do it. We look forward to seeing them there. (John, please leave the duck outfits at home, or in the barn, wherever you keep them!)
A very BIG congratulations to CBD 1985-1986 President and 1992-1993 Parent Body President Curt Shane, who so deservedly was awarded the Lillian U. Jenkins Special Achievement Award this year. Curt was genuinely surprised and extremely moved by the award, presented by Past President Maria Lyons. We are glad to have Curt again attending the CBD conferences after his move from California to Norfolk.
Congratulations, also, to newly-elected officers this year. Mike Grimm elected to the Board of Directors, Sylvia Buffington elected our Historian, and Jim Yost elected as Sergeant-at-Arms. James Johnson was elected 3rd Vice-President, the other Vice Presidents have moved up one step and the other members of the Board of Directors have remained the same. Committee assignments have been made and are on the inside of the front cover of this edition of the "Examiner", Congratulations to all! I look forward to working with each of them. I want to encourage all members to take an active role in the CBD and consider running for office. As we senior officers move on, "new blood" is needed to carry on and to bring new and innovative ideas to the Division.
Those of you at the Fall Conference know some questions were raised concerning the cost of the conference registration, making it particularly difficult to afford to bring spouses for instance. Randy Goodwin, since being Treasurer, has had access to the hotel bills, because he pays them; therefore, I consulted with Randy and Chairman Artone for advice on sending out a survey form as suggested at the business meeting. We all decided an actual survey form is not the way to go at this time, and Carmine advised me he would incorporate some questions into the message to you in this issue of the "Examiner". You should understand that the costs of the conferences is based on the cost of the meals and breaks provided by the hotel hosting the conference. In most instances, the hotel takes into consideration the number of rooms rented each night and the number of meals "sold". In return they usually provide meeting rooms (both Speakers' rooms and Board of Directors room), the Hospitality Suite, Vendors' Area, etc., at no cost or at a very nominal fee. Our fear is that if we stop utilizing the hotel's catering service, the charge for the rooms will actually cost us more than the meals are costing. Since the meal and break fees constitute the cost of the registration, it may be very difficult to calculate the cost of the registration if we were charged solely for hotel meeting space, because we would not know far enough in advance the number who will attend each conference.
At present we consider the cost of the meals and breaks and set the conference fee, so no matter how many register, the fee is set. Several comments I received after the Business Meeting indicated that many people like the camaraderie that goes along with having meals with the members, rather than having to go out and eat on their own. I will certainly consider having you pay for a meal for a spouse, the night of the Banquet, for instance. The cost would be whatever the hotel charges the Division. Again, you must remember, though, that if that person plans to have all meals with the group, you really will not be saving much/anything because the cost of the conference is based on the meal and breaks costs to us, and family members are usually about $10.00 less than the member's registration. If you choose to order a single family member meal, you must make that known at the time of registration. Much of the negotiation process with the hotels for the next four conferences has already taken place and may, therefore, be almost impossible to change at this time. Please consider the questions put forth by Carmine and take time to respond. We will certainly take into consideration your views and may be able to make some changes if they will not impact negatively on the whole membership. I also want to assure you that we do all that we can to keep the cost of the conferences at a minimum. You will note that even with inflation, the cost of the conference has remained fairly consistent over the last several years.
Lastly, I would like to encourage all of you to come to the Spring Conference in Morgantown, West Virginia. We have not been to West Virginia for quite some time and hope that you will be there, and hope especially that many WV residents will find this an opportune time to join us. Besides the regularly scheduled Speakers' conference, there are two additional activities planned. Mark Neal is planning a golf outing on Thursday afternoon around 1:00, depending upon the number of people interested. The Lakeview Resort has an outstanding course, so if you are a golfer, you may want to take advantage of it. The cart and greens fee will be $31 plus tax. Mark must have the total number of players by the end of January. You may call him at 304-746-2243 for more information. Also planned on Friday morning is a tour of the new FBI facility. This should be very interesting and informative, and may be considered part of the conference for the purposes of getting to the conference site by Friday morning instead of noon. Because of security purposes, Sandy McKay, who is coordinating this, will need to know who will be coming by the first weekend in March. Please call Sandy at 304-622-9160 for more information concerning the exact time, where to meet, etc. I hope you take advantage of this great opportunity. As a side note, the hotel also has one of the best health clubs available, so don't forget your sweats! Hope to see you there! Best wishes for the New Year!
September 1995
When I wrote may last message to you, the furnaces were running and the fire places were crackling. In this oppressive heat we have been enduring this summer it is hard to remember how refreshing the cold air must have been back then. By the time you receive your "Examiner", the extreme heat will have hopefully subsided and we can enjoy a few nonths of moderate weather.
We had a wonderful Spring Educational Conference in Morgantown, WV. We had a great turn-out, with over 160 registered. The hotel, meeting space, service and food were wonderful. The weather semi-cooperated. We were lucky in that it could have been much colder than it was, but we did have rain. Only the golfers really seemed to mind that. The tour of the beautiful new FBI building and Service Center was very interesting. I again want to thank Sandy McKay (FBI) for coordinating the tour and making all the necessary arrangements. Thanks, too, to Mark Neal (WV State Police) for making all the arrangements for the golf tournament. Tim Hahn had a great Speakers' Program for us, and thanks go to J.J. Johnson for the work he did getting all the vendors together. As usual, before all our conferences, Secretary-Treasurer Randy Goodwin, and his wife Nancy, had the brunt of the work. A far as anyone else can see, they have it down to a science, and everything on their end goes without a hitch. It is with the effort of these folks that everything went so well, and I thank them for all that they did.
We are very fortunate to have had so many new members join from West Virginia prior to and at the Spring Conference, and hope to see more new faces this Fall. We have had over forty new members join the CBD this year and I can't tell you how pleased I am. Much of this success goes to Randy Goodwin who accosts almost everyone he meets and persuades them to join. Good job Randy!
The International Meeting in Costa Mesa was a great success, too. The CBD had at least thirty-five delegates present. We can be very proud that our Division has more (many more) officers of the Parent Body than any other Division. Ron Jackson is 1st Vice-President; Tom Fiorenza is the Sergeant-at-Arms; Cary Chapman is the Historian; Board Members include Coy Burns, Danny Greathouse, Norm Smith, Jeff Thompson, Bill Watling and William Whyte. Congratulations to all the Parent Body officers from the CBD who have the confidence of so many to have been elected and re-elected!
I look forward to the upcoming Fall Educational Conference in Martinsburg. The drive will be a little shorter for most of our members, and, of course, a little longer for some. The registration and hotel fees are quite reasonable. The spouses (especially the ladies) should really enjoy this conference - there are lots of outlet stores in Martinsburg, so bring some extra money and leave extra room in the car for new pruchases. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!
For those of you whom I won't see, have a wonderful upcoming holiday season and great New Year!
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have supported me and for the many offers of help that I received at the Fall Conference. They are all greatly appreciated. There will be lots of questions as I proceed through the next year and I will be calling on many of you, and I'm sure, especially on Carmine, for more help and suggestions. I will do my best to be a good President and to fulfill by duties, attempting to continue in the same vein as my predecessors.
I want to take this opportunity to extend a personal thank you and a thank you from the entire membership to Carmine Artone for two excellent conferences in Richmond and Ocean City. The Spring conference in Richmond set a record for the largest number of people registered; he then beat his own record with 150 registered in Ocean City! Everything was planned very well at both sites and went off without a hitch. Carmine's choices of meals were excellent and I heard a lot of outstanding comments about both of the conferences. Thanks also go to Ken Smith for the two excellent Speakers' Programs he put together, which probably had a lot to do with the number of members attending. Tim Hahn also did a great job with the vendors. We had almost-record numbers at both conferences. As I said at the Banquet, many of the vendors are no longer just vendors to us. Many have become friends to many of us, and we greatly appreciate the support they give our Division. We look forward to seeing them again in '95.
Credit for the attendance at meetings, of course, must ultimately go to you, the members who attend. Many of you take your vacation days to attend and pay your own way, without compensation from your employers. This shows your dedication not only to the CBD-IAI, but to your interest in your profession, and you are to be commended. Please let me know during the next year what can be done to keep you coming and encourage other members to attend the conferences.
I departed somewhat from tradition this year and asked Randy Goodwin to serve as the official at the Swearing-In ceremony. I consider Randy a good friend and have a lot of respect, as I know all of you do, for all that he does for the Division. I want to again thank Randy for the honor of having had him swear all the Officers in for the upcoming year.
Another very big thank you goes to our Editor, Barbara Pase, for the outstanding job she has done for several years. I am sure none of us can appreciate the amount of time Barbara spends putting together the two editions of the "Examiner" each year. She has a very busy work schedule and given many, many hours of her "free" time to us, and we all owe her a BIG thank you! A reminder though, she need your input. She can't do it all on her own. She needs articles, case histories, processing techniques, notes of a personal nature (promotions, retirements, change of offices/job titles) etc. Please send Barbara anything you can to make her job easier. Also, please remember to keep Randy informed of any address changes so Barbara can get the "Examiner" to you with the least amount of trouble.
There were many groans of disappointment at the Banquet when Carmine announced that Craig and Kathy Rich were not going to be our hosts at the Hospitality Suite any longer. Craig and Kathy have done a outstanding job for several conferences - going above and beyond the call of duty by having hot snacks, great variety and always lots of smiles for everyone. We will all miss having them as our Hospitality Suite host and hostess at the upcoming conferences, and I again want to thank them for the great job they have done so many times! John Bowman, one of our Past Presidents, has said earlier that if new hosts were ever needed, he and his wife, Jan, would be interested in filling the "job". I have asked them to be our new Hospitality Suite host and hostess, and they have very graciously agreed to do it. We look forward to seeing them there. (John, please leave the duck outfits at home, or in the barn, wherever you keep them!)
A very BIG congratulations to CBD 1985-1986 President and 1992-1993 Parent Body President Curt Shane, who so deservedly was awarded the Lillian U. Jenkins Special Achievement Award this year. Curt was genuinely surprised and extremely moved by the award, presented by Past President Maria Lyons. We are glad to have Curt again attending the CBD conferences after his move from California to Norfolk.
Congratulations, also, to newly-elected officers this year. Mike Grimm elected to the Board of Directors, Sylvia Buffington elected our Historian, and Jim Yost elected as Sergeant-at-Arms. James Johnson was elected 3rd Vice-President, the other Vice Presidents have moved up one step and the other members of the Board of Directors have remained the same. Committee assignments have been made and are on the inside of the front cover of this edition of the "Examiner", Congratulations to all! I look forward to working with each of them. I want to encourage all members to take an active role in the CBD and consider running for office. As we senior officers move on, "new blood" is needed to carry on and to bring new and innovative ideas to the Division.
Those of you at the Fall Conference know some questions were raised concerning the cost of the conference registration, making it particularly difficult to afford to bring spouses for instance. Randy Goodwin, since being Treasurer, has had access to the hotel bills, because he pays them; therefore, I consulted with Randy and Chairman Artone for advice on sending out a survey form as suggested at the business meeting. We all decided an actual survey form is not the way to go at this time, and Carmine advised me he would incorporate some questions into the message to you in this issue of the "Examiner". You should understand that the costs of the conferences is based on the cost of the meals and breaks provided by the hotel hosting the conference. In most instances, the hotel takes into consideration the number of rooms rented each night and the number of meals "sold". In return they usually provide meeting rooms (both Speakers' rooms and Board of Directors room), the Hospitality Suite, Vendors' Area, etc., at no cost or at a very nominal fee. Our fear is that if we stop utilizing the hotel's catering service, the charge for the rooms will actually cost us more than the meals are costing. Since the meal and break fees constitute the cost of the registration, it may be very difficult to calculate the cost of the registration if we were charged solely for hotel meeting space, because we would not know far enough in advance the number who will attend each conference.
At present we consider the cost of the meals and breaks and set the conference fee, so no matter how many register, the fee is set. Several comments I received after the Business Meeting indicated that many people like the camaraderie that goes along with having meals with the members, rather than having to go out and eat on their own. I will certainly consider having you pay for a meal for a spouse, the night of the Banquet, for instance. The cost would be whatever the hotel charges the Division. Again, you must remember, though, that if that person plans to have all meals with the group, you really will not be saving much/anything because the cost of the conference is based on the meal and breaks costs to us, and family members are usually about $10.00 less than the member's registration. If you choose to order a single family member meal, you must make that known at the time of registration. Much of the negotiation process with the hotels for the next four conferences has already taken place and may, therefore, be almost impossible to change at this time. Please consider the questions put forth by Carmine and take time to respond. We will certainly take into consideration your views and may be able to make some changes if they will not impact negatively on the whole membership. I also want to assure you that we do all that we can to keep the cost of the conferences at a minimum. You will note that even with inflation, the cost of the conference has remained fairly consistent over the last several years.
Lastly, I would like to encourage all of you to come to the Spring Conference in Morgantown, West Virginia. We have not been to West Virginia for quite some time and hope that you will be there, and hope especially that many WV residents will find this an opportune time to join us. Besides the regularly scheduled Speakers' conference, there are two additional activities planned. Mark Neal is planning a golf outing on Thursday afternoon around 1:00, depending upon the number of people interested. The Lakeview Resort has an outstanding course, so if you are a golfer, you may want to take advantage of it. The cart and greens fee will be $31 plus tax. Mark must have the total number of players by the end of January. You may call him at 304-746-2243 for more information. Also planned on Friday morning is a tour of the new FBI facility. This should be very interesting and informative, and may be considered part of the conference for the purposes of getting to the conference site by Friday morning instead of noon. Because of security purposes, Sandy McKay, who is coordinating this, will need to know who will be coming by the first weekend in March. Please call Sandy at 304-622-9160 for more information concerning the exact time, where to meet, etc. I hope you take advantage of this great opportunity. As a side note, the hotel also has one of the best health clubs available, so don't forget your sweats! Hope to see you there! Best wishes for the New Year!
September 1995
When I wrote may last message to you, the furnaces were running and the fire places were crackling. In this oppressive heat we have been enduring this summer it is hard to remember how refreshing the cold air must have been back then. By the time you receive your "Examiner", the extreme heat will have hopefully subsided and we can enjoy a few nonths of moderate weather.
We had a wonderful Spring Educational Conference in Morgantown, WV. We had a great turn-out, with over 160 registered. The hotel, meeting space, service and food were wonderful. The weather semi-cooperated. We were lucky in that it could have been much colder than it was, but we did have rain. Only the golfers really seemed to mind that. The tour of the beautiful new FBI building and Service Center was very interesting. I again want to thank Sandy McKay (FBI) for coordinating the tour and making all the necessary arrangements. Thanks, too, to Mark Neal (WV State Police) for making all the arrangements for the golf tournament. Tim Hahn had a great Speakers' Program for us, and thanks go to J.J. Johnson for the work he did getting all the vendors together. As usual, before all our conferences, Secretary-Treasurer Randy Goodwin, and his wife Nancy, had the brunt of the work. A far as anyone else can see, they have it down to a science, and everything on their end goes without a hitch. It is with the effort of these folks that everything went so well, and I thank them for all that they did.
We are very fortunate to have had so many new members join from West Virginia prior to and at the Spring Conference, and hope to see more new faces this Fall. We have had over forty new members join the CBD this year and I can't tell you how pleased I am. Much of this success goes to Randy Goodwin who accosts almost everyone he meets and persuades them to join. Good job Randy!
The International Meeting in Costa Mesa was a great success, too. The CBD had at least thirty-five delegates present. We can be very proud that our Division has more (many more) officers of the Parent Body than any other Division. Ron Jackson is 1st Vice-President; Tom Fiorenza is the Sergeant-at-Arms; Cary Chapman is the Historian; Board Members include Coy Burns, Danny Greathouse, Norm Smith, Jeff Thompson, Bill Watling and William Whyte. Congratulations to all the Parent Body officers from the CBD who have the confidence of so many to have been elected and re-elected!
I look forward to the upcoming Fall Educational Conference in Martinsburg. The drive will be a little shorter for most of our members, and, of course, a little longer for some. The registration and hotel fees are quite reasonable. The spouses (especially the ladies) should really enjoy this conference - there are lots of outlet stores in Martinsburg, so bring some extra money and leave extra room in the car for new pruchases. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!
For those of you whom I won't see, have a wonderful upcoming holiday season and great New Year!