NCSLA President,
Eliza Robertson

Letter from the President, July 2006

Hello, NCSLA members,

Once I had notes, now missing. Instead, I have memories -- and the SLA Website -- to remind me of the major events of the annual conference in Baltimore a few weeks ago.

The Big Deal for us NC chapter members was the installation of Rebecca Vargha as President and Tamika Barnes as a Director. "NC Women Excel" should read the headline; I love seeing two of our own in the international line-up of 15 officers! In the SLA blog John Adams of the SLA staff succinctly reports on Rebecca's kick-off speech:

New SLA President Rebecca B. Vargha sees an organization that focuses its "talent and energies on creating a strong and vibrant forum for learning, teaching and innovation throughout the world." In a brief speech at the annual business meeting Tuesday, Vargha said her three priorities are:

• Increasing membership growth and retention. Planning SLA's 100th anniversary celebration in 2009.
• Gaining 1,000 members by SLA's centennial.
  She asked members for their support, creativity, and "wonderful energy" in reaching those goals.
  "The important first step," she said, "is to begin together."
  [Posted by John Adams on June 13, 2006 at 01:27 PM in SLA HQ News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)]

  By the way, do check out that blog for the excellent write-ups of conference sessions and the reporters' impressions. Next year in Denver, the conference will feature the candidates' speeches given live before the entire group of attendees, rather than to the smaller group at the winter Leadership Summit. At the Conference, in addition to the excellent DMAH programming, I attended both Chapter Cabinet meetings along with president-elect Debbie Balsamo on Sunday and director Betty Jo Hibberd Tuesday, in Debbie's absence. The big take-away for me is huge appreciation for the elected leadership of SLA and the staff who make all the good ideas happen. There was no actionable business, but I did get the membership status report. With Rebecca's emphasis on increasing the membership, I'm happy to report that the North Carolina Chapter is bucking a downward membership trend that's apparent in the larger SLA and in professional associations in general. As of May 2006 we have 256 members, up from 243 a year earlier, a gain of 5.3%. SLA has lost 6.3% and stands at 12,629. A healthy and growing membership is vital for the continuation of SLA and I encourage each of you to pull new members into our chapter. For context, a few years ago we had over 320 members in the chapter, so we have a challenge ahead!

Take care,
Eliza