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Voice Mail 256-569-4098
Welcome to the new officers of GAIFA for 2003-2004
It is with honor and great humility that I accept the office of President of GAIFA for the coming year. I have served as membership chairman for the past year and after attending the State Convention in Gulf Port recently, I understand even better the importance of membership. Many states are on the brink of folding and some even share a state executive with another state, but we are fortunate in Alabama to have had past boards with a vision that has enabled Alabama to be in sound financial condition. Even with declining membership we are able to maintain the services that you have come to expect.
Locally you have selected an equally impressive board of directors. As we begin the new year we will attempt to address issues that you have expressed interest in seeing us deal with and at the same time we will make sure that your confidence in our officers is not unmerited.
One issue that has surfaced several times is the location of our monthly meeting location. The past board formed a committee to investigate possibilities and we are offering one of those choices this month. We will meet in downtown Gadsden and the meal will be catered by Piccadilly's. It will cost approximately $2.50 more per attending member based on the attendance of 45 for us to make this change. After the meeting we will do a survey to see if you as a member feel this will be an option. If so we will need to seek sponsors to cover the cost of the meeting room each month.
Our membership directory has been about 6 months in the working and should be ready for print within the next month. Several advertisers have mad the directory possible. A deadline for any additional sponsors will be the end of June. thanks to Randy Duckett and Mark Brittain for their work.
I would like to thank Danny Clayton and the outgoing board of directors for the year we have just completed. I takes a lot of work, dedication and commitment to make sure that the meetings are attended and successful. I will be appointing committee chairs in the next few weeks and I believe that we can continue this tradition. Certainly I will need the help of everyone as I cannot do the job alone.
If you have ideas that you feel would make our meetings better, or speakers that you would like for us to consider, please let me know. We are attempting to make sure we are responsive to the needs of our members. In closing, our association is like so many others, it takes members to keep us active and viable. If you know someone that is not a member please encourage them to join. Ask them to visit our web page and check out the benefits of membership. Kerry Wilson is doing a great job in keeping the web page current. You can always go to it and see the date, location and who the speaker for the month will be. Kerry Will also have a calendar for the upcoming year on the web page. Check it out at www.gadsdenalu.com . Thanks to our delegates for their attendance at the recent state convention. Check out their reports inside this newsletter.
Thanks again for the privilege of serving as your president this year. Charlie Pitts, President GAIFA
2003-2004 Officers and Board Click Here. 2003 - 2004 Calendar of Events Click Here.
NEW MEETING LOCATION OF JUNE
We have for several months been seeking a new location for our monthly meeting. There are very few choices in our area but we have arranged to have the June meeting at the "Seniors Activity Center" located between 6th and 7th streets on Broad S. Downtown. The meal will be available at 11:30 and the meeting will begin are 12:00. Parking is available in the rear of the building.
Dues must be paid to attend the meeting. If you have not paid your dues, please call the associations office 546-4626, or you may pay on line by clicking here now: https://secure.naifa.org/renewals/ .
State President Orie Knowlton will be our guest speaker and will also install our new officers for the year. Orie will also give an update on the past state convention and perhaps a preview of the upcoming National convention in Kansas City.
STATE CONVENTION REPORT
The weather was beautiful in Gulf Port, Mississippi during AAIFA's State Convention May 16-18, 2003, in sharp contrast to the weather on that same weekend in 2002. (Sorry about you Riverfester's that got rained out; You should have been in Gulfport).
Friday night was a blast. We moved the convention to the Gulfport Elks Lodge for a Shrimp Boil, with the funniest comedian in Alabama. No, it wasn't James Gregory. Mickey Dean entertained us with home spun humor, and kept everybody in stitches. When asked how he gets his ideas for the comedy he writes, he says, "I'm from Alabama, I don't write comedy, I report it". The shrimp boil was the best ever.
The next day, we elected one or our own, Mark Britain as Area Vice President. Orie Knowlton, who visited GAIFA's last monthly meeting was sworn in as the new State President. Orie will be back in Gadsden in June to induct GAIFA's new officers. Saturday's luncheon meeting was highlighted by heart touching "Real Life Stories". Saturday's Banquet was highlighted by a line up of AAIFA;s past presidents over the past 25 years or so, who were invited back to sit at the head table. It was quite impressive.
Don't miss AAIFA's 2004 convention which will be held in Point Clear, Alabama. "Letting Go - Looking Ahead". -Kerry Wilson.
I would like to first of all say it was an honor to represent the Gadsden Association as a delegate at the State Convention in Gulfport Miss. It was great to spend time with fellow delegates, Kerry Wilson and his wife, JoAnn Gray and her husband, Mark Brittain and his son, Charlie Pitts and his wife and Terry and his wife Dot. The programs were well planned and we were fortunate to have both a National trustee, Marvin Keys, and the National Secretary, Bob Brown as speakers. Our new state insurance commissioner, Walter Bell, also did a great job during his presentation. I'm more convinced than ever that now is the best time in history to be in the insurance and financial services industry. I'm proud to be a member of the Gadsden local association and I pledge to continue to do everything I can to help our members be more successful. I look forward to next year's convention at Point Clear, AL and I want to encourage each and every member to look for ways to serve our clients and to be proactive in our industry's efforts. I, like many, have often wondered sometimes if it even pays to be a member of NAIFA, AAIFA, AND GAIFA but I'm convinced that the more we do together the stronger we will be as an association. Our representation in Washington, DC, Montgomery, AL and our local communities is a testimony of the things we can accomplish together. I look forward to serving as 3rd Vice President for 2003-04 and will do all I can to move our association forward - Randy Duckett.
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