com in numbermbe of members me e basement to pro
embe s,, v lolunte
eers
s,, and
d in iits fi anc al
fina cia strength. Chris i
considers it a privilege to have served as President of the Illinois chapter. As the 1997 President, David Bendoff also remembers the move from the
bffessional offiffice space. He helpl ed improve the professionalilism
of the chapter by hiring an experienced Executive Director. Prior to that, the role had been filled by more of an administrator who “morphed” into the Executive Director role. Additionally, while David was President, the chapter created its first web presence by developing and launching the CAI-IL website. Another big change in 1997 was changing the date of the holiday party. It had been later in the season, and conflicted with many other holiday events; thereby limiting attendance. By moving it earlier in the season, the holiday party (now the Excellence Awards & Winter Gala) has become one of the Chapter’s most successful events. Regarding the growth and stability of the chapter, David says that none of it comes as a surprise to him because we’ve always had great chapter leaders.
Kara Cermak, the 1999 CAI Illinois President, recalls great turmoil in the chapter at the time and also talked of the move from the Director’s basement to a professional office space. Kara added that the Board decided to end the Director’s employment and that she and Chuck McCrimmon had to move all the chapter records from the Director’s house to the new professional space! Aside from just “making it through the year” (really), Kara’s biggest challenge as President was keeping the association relevant, elevating the game, and hiring new personnel. She feels the chapter began to take itself more seriously during this time and her greatest accomplishment was encouraging the chapter to rely on volunteers and personnel to take CAI Illinois to the next level. When looking at where the chapter is today, Kara is amazed at it all. She says everything has grown and she is proud to be part of the Chapter and all that everyone has done.
Lou Lutz served as President in 2001 and 2005. He believes leadership, whether as CAI President or running a company, is about a consistent message and example sent to the people we serve and those we supervise. His goal as President in both terms was to energize board members and empower the CAI staff. During his term, the board, committees, and CAI staff worked to establish the concept of recognition. Only the Rising Star award existed, so they created the Barbara D Wick award and Olympus award, recognizing long-time members for selfless contributions to the chapter. During this time, the chapter also took the first vote to proactively pursue manager licensing, fund a lobbyist, and expanded the size of the CAI board to bring in more participation. Since his time as President, Lou is surprised at the increased revenue stream the chapter now sees from programs and vendor participation.
‘‘ ‘‘
I am very proud of CAI and its accomplishments. There are many very talented and dedicated people involved in CAI who make our organization as successful as it has become.
— Andrea Sorgani ’’
I’ve always believed that Leadership and Learning are indispensable to each other. My volunteer efforts were a means to give back to the industry and I’ve found that the industry has given back to me ten-fold in terms of friendships and long lasting relationships.
— Tim Haviland ’’ |
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