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National news headlines and coverage about Obama’s first 100 days make me pause to examine my administration’s record to date. We were elected Jan. 22 and we haven’t stopped moving since. How are we doing?
1. CAA monthly meetings are well attended. We usually end up putting out more chairs than were originally set up.
2. The Association is converting to email. Minutes, agenda, financial report, announcements, hand-outs for meetings are all emailed to Directors in advance of the monthly meeting. Most Directors are printing out documents and bringing to the meeting. This one measure saves the CAA considerable time and money. (Of course any CAA members who don’t have email receive the monthly minutes via US Postal Service.)
3. We have a strong membership committee, ably chaired by Director Barb Baumann with very capable support by her committee Adele Burnett, Peg Montgomery, Laurie Wright, Bill Baumann, Dick Lasher and Helen Black. The committee has taken all previous membership lists and merged them into one qualified, up-to-date list. In the first month we endeavored to contact the CAA membership (almost 250) to verify and update contact information. The membership has begun conversion to email as well with 75 percent of our members able to receive news and minutes by free and instant email instead of slower and more costly mail. The membership list is updated frequently to assure members maintain good standing which impacts eligibility for CAA benefits such as health insurance, free advertising on the CAA and CAA Events Web sites. CAA membership is up 4 percent at the end of March. The committee has set a goal of improving overall satisfaction, increasing value and growing total membership by 10 percent in 2009.
The committee has also designed new membership cards which will be mailed out in May to all paid members. These cards are coupled with two new membership discount programs to be announced in June. A new membership brochure is in the works to clearly communicate the fundamental values of membership as well as provide important contact information and summarize annual CAA events. The Committee has proposed a new simpler fee schedule which will be in place for the 2010 membership year. And last but not least, the committee is drafting a script that will distributed to all Information Centers, as well as all Directors, on the merits of CAA membership. When a prospective new member asks “Why should I join the CAA?” we will have a compelling answer.
4. We have a strong marketing committee, ably chaired by Director Jim Connerty. Many weeks of meetings and discussions have resulted in a new CAA Web site at www.visitmyadirondacks.com as well as individual event Web sites, including www.snofestusa.com and www.thunderinoldforge.com. Other sites that will be launched soon include Our Adirondack Wedding, Black Fly Challenge, Snodeo, and Sled Dog Races, with more to be developed as we throttle down on our internet marketing campaign. Our association with Vertiglo Marketing has been invaluable in terms of taking events to the next level to increase excitement, business buy-in, social board buzz, attendance and revenue. After all, the goal of these events, when all is said and done, is to attract more people to stay overnight in our lodging places, to eat and drink in our restaurants and bars and to spend money in our shops. The marketing committee is simultaneously working on a marketing plan for the organization that will provide a comprehensive plan to drive decisions and direction for future promotion of the CAA region.
5. We have a strong Liaison Committee, ably chaired by Director Gail Murray. This committee sent a letter to Governor Paterson as well as other state officials stating the Association’s opposition to the APA restrictions on seaplanes landing on Lows Lake. CAA representatives attended the Central Adirondack Trail (CAT) Scenic Byways Marketing Meeting in Blue Mountain Lake and will continue to be involved to ensure the CAA’s inclusion as plans for CAT Scenic Byway promotion unveil. Deb Carhart attended Local Government Day in Lake Placid in March wearing both her Cap-21 Director hat and her liaison committee member hat. Committee members met with Ray Durso, executive director of Genesis, a Mohawk Valley Region promotion agency, to discuss ways the two organizations can assist one another in achieving their goals. CAA had representation at the Adirondack Park Snowmobile Trails Conference in Long Lake, hosted by the NYSSA. Two CAA liaison committee members attended the Indian Lake Chamber dinner at Minnowbrook to reach out to our regional partners and also to check on our investment in the Indian Lake Theater.
6. Events. We’re all about events. The Old Forge Winter Carnival was staged in February, followed by the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Snofest in March. Upcoming are Community Pride Day on Wednesday, May 6 (spring cleaning of our respective towns), PolkaFest Memorial Day Weekend, Thunder in Old Forge May 29-31, Black Fly Challenge June 13, Hamilton County Birding Festival June 19-21, Classic Car Show & Frog Jumping Fathers’ Day Weekend and Global Welcoming on June 24. Planning is on-going too for other events which will take place in the summer, fall and next winter. There has been much networking with other organizations in the region to see how we can work together to promote each other as well as the region. For example, networking with the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts Executive Director Stephen Svoboda has resulted in a Shakespeare in the Adirondack Park Festival, with a production of “ A Midsummer Night's Dream” in eleven villages ranging from Thendara to Old Forge to Inlet to Raquette Lake to Blue Mt Lake to Indian Lake to Long Lake and beyond the last week of July. All of these events require months of planning and hundreds of hours of work by both paid staff and volunteers.
7. By-Laws and Policies Committee recommends policy on various issues to bring about standardization, predictability, equity and consistency in CAA decisions and day-to-day business matters. Being such a large organization with so many different responsibilities and activities, spread out over a huge geographic area, there are many issues that require policy such as donations, memorials, food and beverage concession at events, bidding requirements for CAA dinners or jobs, insurance, event planning & execution. The committee also reviews the By-Laws and the Association’s adherence to and compliance with the By-Laws.
8. A day-long retreat is scheduled for Tuesday, May 5. Attending will be CAA Directors and committee members, as well as local government representatives. The purpose of the retreat will be to identify where CAA is now, where we want to be in one year, and articulate strategies and partners that will get us where we want to be.
9. The local papers have been generous with the space they have allowed me to report CAA news. It is important to the organization’s membership and the business community to know how the Board of Directors is spending its money and what is being done to put more heads in beds, feet in sheets, seats in seats, cash in the registers.
A lot has been initiated and accomplished in these three short months. This is due to the commitment of CAA Directors and members who have attended meetings, volunteered at events and demonstrated a sincere desire to see the organization realize its enormous potential. The challenges are never ending. We need to work on relationship-building with both our regional partners and our local partners. We need to work on relationship-building among the Board of Directors to build a strong team of 30 Directors all working together to achieve CAA goals. We need to develop a comprehensive marketing plan. We need to standardize the planning, execution and evaluation of events. We need to grow our membership. We need to nurture and grow our pool of volunteers who are so vital to making events happen.
I’m excited about the CAA’s future. I’m having a ball being a part of it. I enjoy working with so many talented, creative imaginative people. You, too, can be part of this dynamic effort to promote the Central Adirondack Region. Give me a call or email and we’ll welcome you with open arms. Together we ARE better AND it’s more fun.