President's Message
Spring '08
It will be spring when you read this and our convention in Chicago will be upon us. Our election will have been settled and we'll be in the process of finalizing a 2008 budget.
As of this writing we know that congratulations are in order for in-coming-president Patti Finner. There is a race for vice president and a number of candidates for the board, so the rest of the story will be revealed to us when the voting is done. Cast a ballot for your favorite board member … and/or challengers. A contested election is healthy for an organization, and we expect another great board to be sworn in at the convention.
This will be my final column as your president, and I must say, it has been fun communicating with you and meeting folks at our conventions and hospitality suites. This is a great organization and ending my term in Chicago will be a positive for me. Chicago is a great venue and we expect, as Ed Sullivan would say … "a really big show!"
The last two years have been interesting and I guess I fulfilled the Chinese toast, "May you live in interesting times." We have seen wonderful growth in our educational mission, with popular seminars in Iowa, Indiana and another coming up in St. Louis. Our exhibits continue to shine under Fran Lockwood's firm hand, and our financial status is solid at this time with wonderful revenue from our show auctions helping us to fund such programs as "Coins in the Classroom" and other worthy endeavors. Thanks to all the board members who helped make it possible.
I hope you will give the same solid support to our in-coming president, Patti Finner, as you extended to me. I'll be around for one more term, serving as your immediate past president, but will retire after that to allow new blood to percolate through our ranks.
I know I can say with confidence, Central States is a great institution and I will look for continued substance from this fine organization. Once again, thank you for your support.
William Brandimore
President
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