President’s Message

August, 2010

As July melts (or should I say monsoons) into August, our thoughts turn to the Great Minnesota Get-Together, the Vikings’ quarter-back dilemma AND the upcoming MTMA program year.

In early July, MTMA Vice President elect, Max Marcy, Kathy Grabowski, and I attended the AFP Regional Officers Meeting, where we picked up some great ideas from other associations for membership recruitment and retention, meeting topics, speakers, and conference. This was my second year attending ROM, and I was once again reminded of the high-quality organization that I am privileged to be a part of with the MTMA. I was very proud to accept two Idea Fair awards on behalf of our association:

• 1st place award – Finance and Administration/Cost Control Innovations – Internal Controls review conducted last summer and fall
• 2nd place award – Best Meeting Idea – Meeting hosted by U of M Carlson School and Gopher-a Tour of the TCF Stadium

Rosie Davis, Immediate Past President once removed, chaired the ROM planning committee, and did an excellent job as MC of the event, as well as facilitating two of the break-out sessions. Also in July, new and former MTMA board members met to transition into our new roles, share ideas from ROM, and make plans for the coming year.

Thanks to Kathy’s efforts, this year’s membership drive is going well. We appreciate everyone who has renewed their memberships, and are confident that we will continue to deliver the caliber of programs and conference experience that you have come to expect from the MTMA. For those of you who are still “on the fence” with regard to membership renewal, please consider the excellent benefits you receive from your membership, including discounted admission to the annual conference, access to the members-only job site to post open positions and resumes, and the on-line members directory for networking and reaching out to colleagues.

Please join us at our first meeting of the 2010-2011 program year on September 16, 2010. The title of the program is “The Do’s and Don’ts of Debt” and will feature a panel including a practitioner, investor, and a banker who will discuss their experiences with debt issuance and ongoing servicing. A substantial part of the program will be devoted to Q & A using questions fielded from MTMA members. In addition to some very interesting topics being planned for the 2010-2011 program year, the MTMA board is considering changing MTMA's name to reflect our alignment with the national organization (AFP). Thirty-eight regional associations have incorporated AFP in their names. Some of the names we are considering include: MNAFP, Minnesota AFP, and Minnesota Association for Financial Professionals.

Overall, it is shaping up to be an exciting year for MTMA, and I look forward to serving as your president.

Warm Regards,

Tracy Howard, CTP
MTMA President, 2010-2011