President's Message

By:  David Jackson, COE    2010 MMLA President

My children are getting to the age now where I am starting to get that all too familiar question from the back seat- “are we there yet”? When I heard it again last week it made me think about the state of our industry and of our association. To know if we “are there yet”, or at least getting closer- we certainly need to have a roadmap to where we are going.

Under Denny Miller’s leadership this year we identified the six key pillars of the MMLA. Here is a list of the pillars and my goals for 2010:

  1. Membership: Membership is the lifeblood of our association. It is our membership that we serve and it is our members that make all of this possible. Our future as an association depends on our ability to retain our current membership as well as add to it. Our current count is roughly 470 members- my goal is to be over 550 by the end of my term. I challenge everyone here this evening to bring just one new member to our association in 2010- what an impact that would have! We have also created a new category of membership at a reduced fee for those who have been displaced. Not that long ago, I was displaced and I am so grateful for the support I received from members of this association. Our association is wonderful resource for networking and finding new opportunities- we want to make sure all of our members have this opportunity.
  2. Board Structure: Our leadership is a vital component of our association. After careful consideration, we have made a few changes for 2010- I will share more detail on this in a few minutes.
  3. Legislative: The pace of new legislation impacting our industry is unprecedented. We need to have an active voice in Lansing. With Murray’s expertise and your generous donations to MORBANPAC we are being heard.  Dan Grzywacz has done a tremendous job raising funds this year and is ahead of our revenue goal. Denny, I am counting you to top that next year.
  4. Education: With all these legislative changes, we have a duty to educate our members and position them to be proactive in dealing with the changes. With Alice Alvey’s guidance, we will continue to provide live education opportunities across the state as well as web based education opportunities to our members.
  5. Social: These are our events, our networking opportunities, and our time to share ideas with our industry peers. We are looking forward to seeing everyone at our annual conference as well as at our local chapter events. You can also become a fan of MMLA on facebook!
  6. Public Relations: We want to be known as the “voice of our industry” in Michigan. Our industry has taken it on the chin the last few years and we need to make sure we are a resource to consumers as well as to the local media so we know can be sure they are getting the story right. We also want to enhance our website and continue to publish a top notch e-newsletter

So, with these pillars and goals for 2010 in mind, I would like to announce the State and Chapter boards have approved a Board Restructure Plan. Here is the intent statement for this plan:  “It is the long term vision of the State Board of Governors of the MMLA that our association be viewed as a single entity with supporting chapters.   Our goal is not to change the basic function of the current local chapters but to consolidate financial reporting, tax obligations and the budget process as well as link the basic roles of local chapter boards with the main objectives of the MMLA.  We feel that this new structure will provide for better overall public relations and marketing of our Association as well as create a successive leadership pipeline of individuals who are experienced and ready to assume state board leadership roles. ” 

The key benefits of this restructure include:

  • Assigning specific committee responsibilities for our general board members that will continue for their entire two year term to build consistency.
  • Ease of transition for those entering the treasurer role.
  • Continued fiscal viability for our Association
  • A unified identity for our Association

We may not be there yet, but I think we are getting much closer to the new “normal” in this industry and I am committed to making sure MMLA will be there as your resource the entire way.

It is truly an honor to serve this association. Thank you.

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