Happy New Year!

Dear IFMA Austin Chapter Member,

We just completed the IFMA Austin 20th anniversary in 2005 and what a year it has been. Charles Carpenter, immediate past President, turned over the Presidency to me back in July and I accepted this position with much enthusiasm and thankful for the opportunity to serve IFMA Austin Chapter members.

Charles Carpenter did a great job setting the stage and getting the right people in place for the IFMA Austin Board in 2004/05 and he certainly picked some wonderful talent. His recommendations for this year were also right on target and we thank him for doing a great job for this chapter. We also appreciate all the hard work and efforts of JR Howard, for taking care of the website and Mary Duke for the Newsletter.

We started the year with a team building event at the Austin Club. We had a consultant join us in bringing the group together to understand the different characteristics and personality styles that make up each board member and committee chair. Each person on your board/team has some wonderful talent and has contributed to the overall success of the IFMA Austin Chapter. I am very fortunate to be working with them.

Our program Chair for 2004/05 has been Robin Connolly. Robin has done an outstanding job in bringing great programs to the Chapter that has helped increase interest for current and new members. Robin has been working with Nisa Kosteka, our new Programs Chair. Nisa has taken on this role with equal enthusiasm. We appreciate all their efforts, tremendously.

Membership has been steadily increasing over the last six months and we see it continuing to grow well into 2006. Our Membership Chair, Kathryn Ingerly, put together a committee to focus on putting membership processes in place to prepare for growth. They were right in line with our goals for 2005/ 2006 to retain and increase membership. We certainly need everyone's participation in making this a strong chapter and to keep it alive and well. We will be focusing on retaining current members and bringing in new members. We are challenging all members to bring in two (2) guests within the first quarter of 2006.

This year our annual IFMA Holiday party was held on Friday December 16, 2005 at Esthers Follies. Our PR and Social Committee Chair, Jaime Fleming did a great job putting this event together. She will have more socials coming up in 2006. I would like to extend a very special "Thank You" to Chuck Coffman for being the photographer and helping to make this evening a very memorable one. What a way to end the year!

Here we are in the first days of 2006 and the outlook for IFMA Austin looks great. We have some wonderful programs planned. Stay tuned for more interesting building tours as well as some social events.

I want to share with you some of the challenging and fun things we have to look forward to and we are looking for you as a member to actively attend and participate. The best way to get something great out of IFMA Austin is to get involved. In addition, please let us hear from you about any meeting topics or any issues of importance to you as a member.

• The IFMA Annual Golf Tournament is scheduled for Monday March 27, 2006. It will be held at The Hills of Lakeway. Please mark your calendar. We will be contacting you shortly to sponsor the Golf Tournament. Glenda Stubbs is working with a committee to make this the best Golf Tournament IFMA Austin has had. More information to come.
• Education- We are looking for a member that would like to head up the Education Committee. IFMA Austin has purchased the books that can be checked out by Shannon Schiermann as a self study for the CFM. Please contact me if you are interested in taking a lead on the education committee.
• Sponsors- If you would like to sponsor a luncheon you may contact Tux MacAuley. A luncheon sponsor is $250. What you get for $250 is a table set up inside the room to display your company information. Business cards are collected for a drawing of $50 cash that the sponsor will present to a winner. The sponsor gets a two minute presentation at the podium before the program. This is a great way to introduce your company to the members.
• Membership Directory- I am looking for a volunteer to help with a new directory for 2006. Please contact me if you are interested. I am encouraging all members to go to the IFMA website to make sure your information is correct and current. This is the information that will go into the directory.

Thank you for making 2005 a good year and I look forward to serving you in 2006.

All the Best to you in 2006!

Anita Landwehr, FMA 
IFMA Austin Chapter President 
alandwehr@movesolutions.com 
512-848-7345