President's
Letter
Rebecca Miller
WIIT President
As the 2004-2005 WIIT year closes, I am pleased to report that WIIT continues to be a very strong and financially sound organization. Membership has once again exceeded expectations, both at the individual and corporate levels. The WIIT programming schedule remained very dynamic.
The continued success of WIIT can be attributed to the extraordinary efforts of the 2004-2005 leadership team-Board Members, Officers, Committee and Section Chairs, who individually and collaboratively worked to fulfill the goals of the organization. Section events were varied and timely, and the speakers were leaders in their respective fields. Although the actual number of events was down slightly from last year, overall attendance for individual events increased, and non-WIIT member attendance also increased. Section chairs were assisted in their efforts by the strong support of an energetic Vice President for Programs and active President-Elect, who served in the role as liaison between the Sections and the WIIT Board on programming topics.
The WIIT Special Events Committee again hosted their signature events with spectacular results. The third Winter Gala and Silent Auction held at the Luxembourg Embassy raised over $2,000 for the benefit of the WIIT Charitable Trust. The Special Events Committee followed this up with a magnificent Annual Dinner celebrating the WIIT Woman of the Year, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Catherine Novelli. Approximately 100 individuals came to honor Ms. Novelli. Membership Socials attracted new faces to the organization. The Summer Social, hosted by the Colombian Embassy, drew close to 70 individuals, in spite of a very heavy thunderstorm. The Winter Social, featuring Senator Gordon Smith, attracted 55 guests, including three ambassadors.
WIIT's Professional Development programming addressed numerous issues for all career levels. The Mentor Program was again a very strong component of WIIT's offerings, providing approximately twenty matches in 2004-2005. Professional Development also hosted a Career Night, which was very well attended.
Membership in WIIT continues to expand-there were 517 members at the close of 2004-2005, compared with 456 last year. Corporate membership also grew from 12 to 13 members. Three levels of Corporate membership were introduced for the 2004-2005 membership year-Gold, Silver and Bronze. Corporate members at the Gold and Silver level are invited to participate in the WIIT Corporate Advisory Board (CAB) to share ideas on issues relevant to their members. Two CAB meetings were held during the year, and generated useful suggestions which will be taken into consideration by the Board.
The success of WIIT relies on the work of its members. Through its Awards program WIIT recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to WIIT. The WIIT Member of the Year Award went to Laura Trejo, Professional Development Mentor Chair, for her tireless work in managing the Mentor program. In addition, Laura also served as a Co-Chair of the Western Hemisphere Section. The WIIT Section/Committee of the Year, awarded for the first time this year, went to the Special Events Co-Chairs, Maria Abrantes, Christine LoCascio, Edyta Malinowski and Fiona Simpkins for their exceptional work in planning and executing very successful events, often under very tight time schedules. The WIIT Lifetime Achievement Award, also awarded for the first time this year, was presented to Mary Alexander. During her tenure with WIIT, Mary has served in many roles including President of WIIT, and Chair of the WIIT Charitable Trust.
WIIT closed the 2004-2005 on a very strong financial footing, with revenues for the year standing at $10,000 over budget.
In summary, WIIT is in
a very strong position financially and programmatically. It has been an honor
to have served as President of this organization, supported by such a strong
leadership team and dedicated group of volunteers. In 2005-2006, WIIT will
be in very competent hands under the leadership of Angela Hofmann, Nicole
Bivens Collinson, new and returning Board members and the slate of officers,
Committee and section chairs.