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A Message from the Senior Vice President for Chapters, Dr. Philip J.-L. Westfall
Since the last report, we continued to implement the strategic plan for chapter development, which was developed the previous year. A summary of accomplishments under our major goals follows.
Goal 1: Establish active chapters in all 50 states and territories. We have made some progress in adding new founders to our list. In the past year, five more states took the initiative of founding their own chapters. We have added only one more chapter to the active status this past year-a little disappointing, but having all the chapters secure their own 501(c)(3) status is no easy task. Nevertheless, progress was made in reaching our goal of having an active chapter in each state. I am very grateful to John Flores, Executive Director, and Marshall Allen, President, for religiously participating in our monthly chapter meetings-a strong vote of support for our chapters. The Chapter Manual was updated, and new constitution and bylaw samples are now available. These reflect a closer association with Roberts Rules of Order and some additional items gleaned from other chapter samples. We came to the aid of the Federal Government DLA, which had experienced difficulty in setting up its finances. Under special provisions by USDLA, we helped them establish a membership base of dues-paid members and offered them a revised constitution and set of bylaws. FGDLA is under new leadership. It is getting significant help in updating its web site thanks to our Chairman of the Board, Dr Jolly Holden, who brought to FGDLA a company who will do pro bono work for the chapter.
Goal 2: Promote national & chapter membership growth. Whereas our handbook was expanded to include strategic planning for membership growth, the chapter presidents expressed a desire for a conference on chapter leadership. Thanks our California Chapter ADEC, a leadership conference has been planned and is being offered in April of 2002. We hope this will turn into an annual gathering of chapter presidents and founders.
Goal 3: Help active chapters transition to independent nonprofit DLAs. With the revision of the articles of incorporation, and the updated Handbook for Chapters, each chapter can now go forward and incorporate independently. Special thanks go to Holland & Knight, our pro bono attorneys, who provided boilerplate application documents to incorporate into our handbook. Chapters should now have sufficient information to incorporate on their own and secure their 501(c)(3) status with the IRS.
Goal 4: Expand & clarify role of VP for chapters. With the new rules for election and term of office in place, for the first time, the chapter presidents directly elected their new representative. Mary Anne Havriluk, former chapter president of the Florida DLA, assumes the position of Senior Vice President for Chapters at our annual meeting.
I am concluding a two-year term as Vice President for Chapters, and I am very pleased to have participated in helping USDLA mature as a Chapter-based organization. As we did last year, we end this year with a high degree of optimism knowing that we are poised for growth and that we are providing real value to those who are in the distance learning field.
Sincerely,
Dr. Philip J.-L. Westfall
Senior Vice President for Chapters