Cindy Cole - President

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President's Message

 The 2013 Annual Conference was a great success. Many positive comments were voiced by delegates, as well as exhibitors. A summary of the evaluations will be presented at the upcoming Board of Directors meeting in October. This is reviewed and feedback is taken into consideration when planning for the 2014 Conference gets underway.

The Annual General Meeting held at the Conference every year was also a great meeting. Constitutional changes were passed as presented. Topics of the CSAO MDR Techniques Course, finances, membership and chapter development were topics of discussion with many members sharing their viewpoint. These topics and suggestions will also be reviewed by the Board of Directors at our next meeting in October.

This summer all CSAO members were sent a strategic planning survey. I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to complete this survey. Member feedback is very important in assisting the Board of Directors in focusing our priorities over the next several years. Chris Ward with Riverhorse Brand Advisors is facilitating the strategic planning process and he was very pleased with the response rate of the survey. The Board of Directors will be meeting in October with Chris to hear a summary of the results of the member survey and have a facilitated session to focus on our Vision, Mission and Goal statements. After this meeting Chris will draft a Strategic Plan which will then go through Board of Director approvals along with any amendments that may be required with the final plan being ready for approval in December. Once this plan is final, it will be shared with all members.

The election process will begin this year. Elections will be held for all Chapter Executive positions, Chapter Representative on the Board of Directors as well as Vice President of CSAO. Succession planning is of concern and we need to ensure all Chapters remain active providing their members value. If you have a passion for what you do, ideas for improvement and are interested in seeing the Association grow and advance please consider becoming involved. We will have an exciting few years ahead of us as we follow through on the Strategic Plan goals and objectives. What a great time to become involved!

Sincerely

Cindy Cole, CSAO President