MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD:

Transitioning from 2016 into 2017….

Well…2016 was another successful year for CARA! I hope you were able to participate in at least one of the many professional development or networking opportunities CARA had to offer. Webinars, Seminar Days, Mixers, Annual Conference, APRA Recaps - our members had a lot to choose from! 

Our biggest event of the year was the 2016 CARA Conference: The Capitol Express: Trails to Treasures. Held in Downtown Sacramento, this was the first time in over 12 years CARA has hosted the conference in Northern California! I was sorry to miss it (I was on maternity leave during that time), but heard nothing but positive feedback. Rumor has it the presentations were top notch, and of course, the social activities were a blast. CARA is all about learning AND having a good time! A BIG thank you to CARA’s outstanding Conference Committee and amazing Corporate Partners for making this event possible. Although we will not be having our annual conference in 2017, I am sure looking forward to 2018!

CARA continues to build its library of fantastic and informative webinars. In 2016 we saw topics ranging from How to Use SEC Documents, and the Value of Predictive Analytics, to Prospect Management for Beginners, and Predictors for Major Gifts.

As I look back at 2016 I am proud of the work CARA has accomplished. I have enjoyed serving as your president, and could not have done so without the leadership and expertise of my fellow CARA Board of Directors.  They are an outstanding and dedicated group of people, working hard to make sure CARA continues to thrive and grow.  I will miss working with all of you, and will continue to help in any way I can.

As much as I hate to say goodbye, I am pleased to introduce you to your new President, Mallory Lass! Mallory has already made a tremendous impact in her role as President-Elect. I have no doubt she will continue to lead CARA and its Board of Directors with great success. She is savvy, creative, thinks outside the box, and has amazing ideas that will take CARA to the next level. I’m looking forward to what CARA has to offer in 2017…and you should too!

-Mandy Beckham

Wow! What a tough act to follow.  I want to start by thanking Mandy for her hard work and tremendous dedication to making CARA a successful and thriving organization.  From her many years on the board, stint as conference co-chair, as well as her service to the executive committee, I have always learned a lot from her leadership and grace.

I am excited to be serving as your 2017 President, and want to introduce you to James Vermillion, who will be serving as President-Elect.  As Mandy mentioned, we won’t be having a Conference this year due to APRA being in Anaheim (Look for a CARA reception and CARA organized social activities).  Given that, we are taking the opportunity this year to so some infrastructure improvements as well as put out some new and interesting professional development opportunities.  At the end of last year, the CARA Board of Directors decided to change management companies.  We are now working with McDonaldAMC, a family owned and run management company out of Sacramento.  We are still working through the transition, so please be patient with us.  I think this is the first step of many to ensure the future success and viability of CARA.

We will also be making improvements to our website, newsletter, webinar library, and much more.  Your Board works tirelessly to make CARA a vibrant organization, and we couldn’t do that without our engaged members, so thank you.

We also want to hear from you on what you like about CARA as we currently exist and any ideas you have for improvements we can work to implement in the future.  Please look for a member survey soon.

I am looking forward to a productive year ahead and am honored to lead us forward.

Sincerely,

Mallory Lass