President's Message

Ambassadors, All!

By Michele Day, CPA

We’re off to a roaring start! Our May leadership team installation, whodunit play and dinner were well-attended and a good time was had by all. And, “who’d ‘a thunk� we had such talented thespians in the chapter, in addition to those presenting to us? One of the several terrific actors, Bob (not “Bob from Accountemps�) Jones, put on a stellar performance. Kudos to Jamie Menasco and her Membership Committee. Thanks to their phone calls, we had 12 new members and 12 other guests in attendance!

Your leadership team (board of directors and committee chairs) already has many programs and events in the works. Be sure to check for schedule updates in both the Bulletin and on the website.

Our theme this year is: Increased involvement through inclusion, corroboration and communication. We are stronger as individuals, a chapter and a profession when we work together and with other financial professionals. Instead of only looking for growth through additional members, I’d also like to see more involvement from current members. In my experience, the more involved we are in our chapter, the more value we receive. As noted in my last column, we have goals in the following three areas:

Inclusion/Involvement Goal: Six guests at dinner meetings; two to three at other chapter events.
Think of three people you know, such as

• a CPA colleague who hasn’t attended a chapter event for a while, or who may not be a member,
• a client or work colleague who could benefit from a CalCPA event, or
• a fellow financial services provider (not a CPA) who might be a great associate member.

Invite them to the next program you attend. If the person is a financial professional in industry, let them know about our Financial Leadership Forum, which delivers continuing education and other benefits specifically designed for professionals in business and industry. Public practice members may even want to attend.

Here is the good news. There’s no way you can lose. Have you ever been invited to a function but couldn’t go? It felt good to be invited anyway, didn’t it? So even if you extend the invitation and the person can’t attend, you’ve begun building a relationship and letting them know of the value that CalCPA (and you!) offers them.

Also, remember the CAP card. It’s still a great value and is transferable. So if you can’t attend one of the events, send someone else in your office. And don’t forget, guests can attend at 50 percent off! The main message is: We’re ALL AMBASSADORS for CalCPA the profession and our chapter.

Financial Literacy Goal: To add two community workshops. We’re collaborating with another professional group to bring a financial literacy day to an East Bay community through its assemblymember . I’ll provide more details as this unfolds. Let’s reach out to the community!

Accounting Education Initiative Support Goal: CalCPA Chair Greg Burke will roll out his initiative and enlighten us about the state of the profession at our chapter’s July 15 dinner meeting. Let’s have a great showing to welcome Greg. We are especially honored to traditionally be the first chapter that is addressed by the new state chair. We’ll also show a short video about the changes we face that will really knock your socks off.

Next Dinner Meeting: Tuesday, July 15, Past Presidents’ Night with an address by CalCPA Chair Greg Burke. We’ll also have a new-member orientation. Let’s build a bridge that spans from our most senior to our newest members. There is value in the wisdom and experience of our past presidents and our 40-year members, as well as the fresh perspective brought by our newest members to the chapter and profession.

Hope to see you (and your guest) Tuesday, July 15 at Scott’s in Oakland—ambassadors all!

—Michele Day, CPA

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