issun th s i e come celebrate the holiday season! t · yasamin al-askari, director suntrust bank...

November - December 2009

Issue SixVolume Ten

The FAR annual Holiday Party is just around the

corner – December 9th to be exact. This year in addition to the op-portunity to see friends, both old and new, FAR has selected a service project that will help members help others in the Washington area.

This year the commit-tee has selected Bread for the City’s Holiday Helpings Food and Cash Drive as our holiday service project. Members are asked to bring any of the items listed below with them when they attend the holiday

Come Celebrate the holiday SeaSon!

(continued on page 24, Holiday season)

marK yoUr

Calendar(and read in advance)

december 3, 2009breaKFaSt meetinG, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Packaging Machinery Manu-facturers Institute, 4350 North Fair-fax Drive, Suite 600, Arlington, VA

22203. “Best Practices in Utilization of Technology.” Attendance limited

to not-for-profit professionals.

december 9, 2009Far’s annual holiday Party,

11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at SunTrust Bank, 1445 New York Avenue, NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20005.

January 20, 2010reGUlar monthly meetinG,

11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at SunTrust Bank, 1445 New York Avenue, NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20005.

“Internal Controls Essential for Man-agers, Accountants and Operations

Professionals.”

February 24, 2010reGUlar monthly meetinG, “Technology Risk and Security: Is

Your Organization Vulnerable.”

in thiS iSSUe

member Profile – Jenni Ford 4September luncheon recap 6member Profile – matt barager 9october luncheon recap 10table talk 11member Profile – mel Whiteley 13member Profile – maria Georges 14association risk management 16holiday Party donor Form 23

party. Bread for the City is specifically looking to collect low-sodium stuffing, cranberry sauce, and canned yams. However, you may bring any non-per-ishable food item. They are looking

In our profession’s ever-increasing challenge to do more with less, it is becoming incumbent on us all to

identify ways to work smarter, faster, more efficiently.

Technology plays a huge role in this regard. We are all tasked to use tech-nology to replace or enhance many of the manual and day-to-day activities that we do, so that we can better fo-cus on how to lead our organizations strategically.

Please come prepared to share your success stories on enhancing and automating your accounting, budget, forecasting, financial statement, and HR processes, and you will also walk

away with some of the best practices that your peers have developed.

The breakfast meeting will be held on Thursday, December 3rd from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute is hosting the event. Their address is 4350 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 600, Arlington, VA 22203. (703) 243-8555. They are located one block from the Ballston Metro (Orange Line).

Note: FAR breakfast meetings are limited to not-for-profit association professionals. To register, please log on to our website: http://www.far-roundtable.org.

Far annoUnCeS breaKFaSt meetinG: “beSt PraCtiCeS in Utilization oF

teChnoloGy”

The annual FAR holiday party is a good start to the season and a great way for our members to share.

. . .

2

Chair’S ColUmn

leFtoverS...

This efficiency expert you sent us....he keeps breaking out into fits of hysterical laughter

2009 - 2010 Board of DirectorsFinance & Administration Roundtable

thomas nordby, Cae, Chair National Defense Industrial Association 2111 Wilson Blvd., Suite 400 Arlington, VA 22201-3061 Phone: 703-247-9461 Email: [email protected]

Craig Silverio, iom, Cae, Past ChairPackaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute 4350 N Fairfax Drive, Suite 600 Arlington, VA 22203-1619 Phone: 703-243-8555 Email: [email protected]

Wes tomer, CPa, vice Chair Veris Consulting11710 Plaza America Drive, Suite 300 Reston, VA 20190 Phone: 703-654-1450 x1457 Email: [email protected]

Patricia adkins, Secretary Home Safety Council 1250 I Street, NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: 202-330-4905 Email: [email protected]

Susan Staton, CPa, treasurer Association of American Universities 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 550 Washington, DC 20005-3928 Phone: 202-408-7500 Email: [email protected]

david akridge, directorAmerican Inns of Court Foundation1229 King Street, Second FloorAlexandria, VA 22314Phone: 703-684-3590Email: [email protected]

yasamin al-askari, directorSunTrust Bank1445 New York Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20005Phone: 202-661-0641Email: [email protected]

mary S. bowie, directorAmerican Association of Museums1575 I Street, NW, Suite 400Washington, DC 20005Phone: 202-289-9112Email: [email protected]

Kristen l. Conte, director Eugene & Agnes E. Meyer Foundation 1400 16th Street, NW, Suite 360 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-552-7450Email: [email protected]

James n. may, CPa, director 1615 Manchester Lane, NWWashington, DC 20011Email: [email protected]

robyn l. morriss, Cae, director Reinsurance Association of America 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 900 Washington, DC 20004-1701 Phone: 202-638-3690Email: [email protected]

michael tryon, CPa, director Tate & Tryon 805 15th St., NW, 9th Floor Washington, DC 20005 Phone: 202-293-2200 x 305 Email: [email protected]

Far roundtablec/o JMP Productions

6277 Franconia RoadAlexandria, VA 2310-2510Phone: 703-971-1116Fax: 703-971-7772Email: [email protected]: www.FAR-Roundtable.org

Editor—Jack Pitzer/Assoc. Editor—Dixie Kennett

We have had a great start to the year so far with sold out programs for both Septem-

ber – “revisiting the Form 990: did you Survive the First year?” and October – “how to Use Social media to Connect, Communicate & Collaborate.” In addition to the very positive feedback on the timely Form 990 session, we also received positive feedback on the somewhat untraditional FAR topic of Social Networking as it fo-cused more on the business side of this area compared to how most other such presen-tations typically tend to be structured. The main challenge for all of us is to figure out how these new communicational methods may be able to further our missions and the ability to meet our strategic business goals, whether that is to increase attendance at our conferences, sell more memberships and publications, increase donor participa-tion, or growing the volunteer base.

The board has been busy working the latest membership renewal cycle and stay-ing ahead of the program planning curve. I’m pleased to report that we are seeing great renewal numbers, as well as many new members joining. In addition, a newly established Survey Task Force is working on creating the next online member survey to be sent out later this year. Lastly, related to us looking for ways to continuously improve

the quality of our main product, the monthly luncheon programs, we have contracted with a new audio visual provider to increase the level of audio services at the luncheons. This may seem like a small issue to report on, but we have already received praise from the membership on this change that went into effect at the October luncheon.

The holiday season is just around the corner, and we are planning for yet another exciting FAR Holiday Party. Please mark your calendars for December 9th to attend this great event. As in the past, we have selected a charity to benefit from FAR’s generous member participation. This year’s selected beneficiary is: Bread for the City. Please be on the lookout for email an-nouncements and watch our website, www.far-roundtable.org, for more information about this event.

Look forward to seeing you at the luncheons.

Regards,

Thomas Nordby, CAEFAR Chair 2009-10

—bringing not-for-Profit Professionals together— 3

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(continued on page 22, Ford)

Jennifer A. Ford, CPA, is the Director of Finance and Accounting for the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME).

Located in Old Town Alexandria, SAME is an organiza-tion of 23,000 members and 111 Posts (chapters) located throughout 14 countries. SAME’s vision is to be a premier global engineering organization, leading the professional and personal growth of all members in support of military readiness and the development of solutions to national security challenges.

Jenni is a team-player who considers her clients to be the various departments within the organization. One of her favorite parts of the job is interacting with new treasurers of SAME’s Posts and assisting them with the many technical requirements of the position.

She coordinated two annual audits in her first six months at SAME, playing a pivotal role in getting the organization back on track with its financial processes. However, the challenges for the department did not end there. Since her arrival at SAME in mid-2005, the organization has experi-enced exceptional growth, transitioning from an organiza-tion that relies primarily on membership dues to one that has a significant conference and meetings program and ever-increasing advertising revenue from its publications. Dues now comprise just 30 percent of the annual revenue.

In addition, she has overseen the changes from a signifi-cantly manual accounting process to one that takes ad-vantage of the many electronic resources avail-able.

Jenni received a bachelor’s in accounting from George Mason University. Never one to follow established protocol, she first worked in corporate accounting, then worked as an auditor for two regional-area CPA firms – Matthews, Carter and Boyce, PC and Sarfino and Rhoades, LLC. She then spent 15 years as a self-employed CPA. She was pleased that during her self-employment years she never prepared a Form 1040 or 1120. And she is most proud of the fact that she never had to advertise – her client base came from referrals.

meet Jenni Ford – member ProFile

Jenni Ford

6

(continued on page 7, Sept. )

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By Anthony A. Cuozzo, Jr., CPA, CGFMCouncilor, Buchanan & Mitchell, P.C.

Nine months into the year 2009 and the early returns are in: Not-for-profit organizations and their tax preparers are still trying to determine

how to respond to so many questions in different areas of the new IRS form 990. More importantly, what is the IRS going to do with this myriad of information, particularly information about the organization’s governance policies?

The September luncheon meeting of FAR featured a panel of CPAs from four local and regional accounting firms to enlighten the standing room only crowd about what we know so far about completing the new IRS form 990—it is a very, very tedious task, especially for the orga-nization. I had the pleasure of moderating a distinguished panel that consisted of Mike Sorrells, CPA, of Cherry Bekaert & Holland (at the time of this presentation; Joyce Underwood, CPA, of BDO; and Dick Locastro, CPA, of Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman. Our objective was to identify areas that have caused issues thus far for orga-nizations and their tax preparers in completing the new

neW irS Form 990 – ChallenGeS and leSSonS learned—So Far!

form. Over 100 FAR members and guests were in attendance for this program.

Mike Sorrells got everyone’s attention very quickly by citing a very unusual tact taken by the IRS for the 2008 form: If the organization is included in a consolidated financial statement, then the answer to the question “Were the financial statements compiled, reviewed, or audited by an independent ac-countant” is an astonishing…….NO! However, based on reaction from CPA firms and not-for-profit organizations, the IRS has graciously fixed this on the 2009 form to be filed in 2010. Unfortunately, the answer for 2008 will still be “no” if the consolidation issue is present.

The kick-off event for the program year drew a good crowd of members for the program and

annual meeting of FAR.

7

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The audience also heard about the burn-ing issue of providing a copy of the 990 to the governing board prior to filing, the impact of fam-ily business relationships with the organization in completing the new form, and what some in the industry refer to as the “three musketeers”: Conflicts of interest, whistle blower and document destruction policies.

The infamous Schedule J dealing with executive com-pensation was the topic for Joyce Underwood, and she enumerated the details of providing what is, without a doubt, the most sensitive area for organizations—especially 501(c)(6) organizations since this is an expanded disclosure for them. With attendees giving their undivided attention, Joyce went over the three different thresholds for “making the cut” to get in Part VII of the “core” part of the form, and then the “jackpot” for those making in excess of $150,000 per year by having more details of their compensation package disclosed in Schedule J. There is no truth to the unconfirmed report that bank security officers had to restrain one executive in the audience when he learned of this new disclosure!

Dick Locastro turned to transactions with interested persons (Schedule L) and what is a reasonable attempt by the organiza-tion to determine if these types of transactions exist. Organizations will need to be careful in interpreting the circum-stances to avoid a dupli-cation of information in different supplemental schedules to the new form. When in doubt, consult with your tax preparers for more information about this matter.

(Sept. Luncheon, continued from page 6)

Dick Locastro

Mike Sorrells

Joyce Underwood, standing, was on the September program panel with Dick Lo-castro, center, and Mike Sorrells, right.

(continued on page 18, Sept. Luncheon )

8 —bringing not-for-Profit Professionals together—

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(continued on page 18, Barager)

Matt Barager is a transplant from the west, herald-ing from Fairbanks, Alaska, and spending time in Nebraska, Texas, and most recently in Colorado.

Having completed his undergraduate studies in Biology and English from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, Matt worked in a variety of positions and industries, ranging from research in Cell Biology to project manage-ment in Community Medicine, and even training people to tend bar for a national restaurant chain.

While working full-time for a semiconductor manufactur-er in Colorado, Matt completed his HR Certification from Regis University and his MBA in Finance from the University of Colorado. Matt went on to join a startup telecommu-nications venture in Denver, Colorado, and ultimately sold the business to a Fortune 50 energy trading company where he then worked as the Director of Tax and Accounting. Finally, Matt sought out the nonprofit world and served as the Chief Financial Officer for the United Way in Colorado Springs.

Matt now serves as the Director of Finance and Account-ing for the Society for Neuroscience, the world’s largest or-ganization of scientists and physicians devoted to advancing the understanding of the brain and spinal cord. With over

40,000 members, an annual confer-ence that brings in around 31,000 of his closest neuro-scientist friends, and the produc-tion of a highly-regarded weekly scientific journal, Matt has found the role at SfN to be both challenging and fun. He man-ages all aspects of the accounting, budget, and invest-ment areas and is continuing to foster his own professional growth through his interactions with education and networking organizations such as FAR, CESSE, and ASAE.

meet matt baraGer – member ProFile

Matt Barager

The Clear Choicefor the Not-for-Profit Community

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10

USinG SoCial media to ConneCt, CommUniCate and Collaborate

By Leslie White Croydon Consulting

As the social media buzz contin-ues to grow in the association world, FAR offered a quick les-

son in how to use social media. Over a hundred people were registered for this popular offering. Maddie Grant, CAE and Lindy Dreyer of Social Fish, LLC, discussed the core concepts of social media and how associations can move forward with social media. Their company, SocialFish, is a social media strategy, marketing and training con-sultancy working with associations. Jim LaRocca of SusQtech addressed the business implications of social media for associations. Jim’s firm, SusQtech, is a technology firm specializing in of-fering SharePoint based business solu-tions and training for associations.

Core Concepts Maddie’s introduction stressed that

social media is about conversations not just broadcasting news to your members and other stakeholders. The purpose is to establish two-way conversations enabling people to build trust to establish relationships. From that trusting relationship your mem-

bers will become evangelists sharing their appreciation for the organization with others. The value of “word of mouth” (WOM) marketing has been known for years but the advent of social media sends WOM advertising into hyper-drive.

According to Maddie, social media

October’s program was also a full house and touched upon an important new subject area for our members and their associations.

(continued on page 20,October)

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table talKFAR is pleased to welcome 21 new (or returning) members!!

Winell belfontePrincipal Reznick Group7700 Old Georgetown Road, Suite 400Bethesda, MD [email protected]

edward berryVice President – Wealth Man-agement Morgan Stanley Smith Barney1747 Pennsylvania, NWWashington, DC 20006202-778-1588Fax [email protected]

russ burnettChief Financial OfficerAIHA2700 Prosperity Avenue, Suite 250Fairfax, VA 22031703-846-0731Fax [email protected]

melissa CecchineVice President and Chief Fi-nancial OfficerNational Apartment Associa-tion4300 Wilson Blvd., Suite 400Arlington, VA [email protected]

Judy himelfarbFinance ManagerNational Breast Cancer Coali-tion1101 17th Street, NW, Suite 1300Washington, DC [email protected]

Stefan hoenickeVice President CitiBank, N.A.6 Montgomery Village AvenueGaithersburg, MD 20879301-921-6121Fax [email protected]

mary v. hornig, mPaChief Financial OfficerSociety for Women’s Health Research1828 L Street, NW, Suite 625Washington, DC [email protected]

martha hulseVice President of Finance & TreasurerMarine Corps Scholarship Foundation, Inc.121 South Saint Asaph StreetAlexandria, VA 22314703-549-0060Fax [email protected]

Carol KeelingDirector of Finance and Ad-ministrationProfessional Landcare Network950 Herndon Pkwy, Suite 450Herndon, VA [email protected]

Jacqueline mansonAccounting ProfessionalConference of State Bank Supervisors1155 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 5th FloorWashington, DC [email protected]

(continued on page 19, Table Talk)

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13

Richard Edward “Mel” White-ley, CPCU, RPLU was raised in Somerville, New Jersey and

is an alumnus of Virginia Common-wealth University. He currently lives in Leesburg, Virginia with his wife, Karolyn. They have two grown sons, Hunter, who lives with his family in Huntsville, Alabama, and Hanes who lives with his family in Leesburg.

Mel is Vice President and one of the principal owners of Armfield, Har-rison, and Thomas, Inc., an insurance brokerage with offices in Leesburg and Seattle, Washington where he has worked for 21 years. The firm has deep specialty in a few areas, one of which is insurance solutions for not-for-profit organizations. Mel is director of that division. In addition to the primary duty of dealing directly with his clients, he is responsible for managing the unit and the personnel that work in it. He is also responsible

for budget development and recon-ciliation. He views the growth of that division since its formal establishment in 1993 as an accomplishment that he shares with the team of professionals with whom he works.

From college, Mel went to work in the life insurance business with Mutual of New York. After just three years he switched gears completely and entered the field of agriculture. He became general manager of the grain mill that is now the Tuscorora Mill Restaurant in Leesburg. When the Loudoun County population began its dramatic growth and agriculture was less viable, Mel decided to get back into the insurance business. He was hired by AH&T where he has been ever since.

Many people are unaware that Mel is an instrument rated private pilot. He is part owner of a Cessna 182 and enjoys taking friends on flights in

search of the famed $100 hamburger. Karolyn, not a fan of small airplanes, seldom goes along. Among Mel’s greatest pleasures is an evening flight alone into the setting sun in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, a short distance by air from his home.

Along with flying, Mel’s hobbies include biking, golf and fishing. He enjoys sports of all kinds as both a spectator (baseball, football, and college basketball are favorites) and sometimes participant and can be found most weekdays at 5a.m. at his local gym. Mel and Karolyn also enjoy

meet mel Whiteley – member ProFile

Mel Whiteley

(continued on page 18,Whiteley)

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14 14

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Maria Georges was born in a small village of about 250 people on an island

in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. In a country home to a population of approximately 800,000 residents, Cyprus is north of Africa and west of Turkey. There she grew up in a rural village, where an agrarian life style was the norm and farming provided sup-port and sustenance. Maria’s parents were farmers and maintained livestock including goats, sheep, cows, and chickens. They also had olive, lemon, and orange trees, along with some vegetable farming. Maria attended an elementary school in the village where grades one through six were taught in the same classroom. The village had no paved roads or private telephone service; however, there was one pay phone in the center of town at the village coffee shop which doubled as recreational outlet but for men

only. No one owned a car and one person in the village drove a bus that shuttled the town’s residence to the nearest city to buy or sell goods.

The second youngest of eight, Maria moved to the United States at 11 years of age, when her older brother met and married a Greek-American girl vacationing in Cyprus and then relocated to the US, when Maria was three. Her parents followed suit after Turkey invaded Cyprus to escape the declining economy, recovering from the war a few years earlier. After a cou-ple of years in the Washington area, her parents were ready to return home to Cyprus, however their children had developed a desire to stay a little longer. Though her first year was very tough, not having known a word of English when she first arrived, Maria had begun to speak English rather fluently and assimilated quite well into the exposure of the western world.

Her parents eventually moved back to Cyprus, but Maria and her three brothers decided to remain in the US.

With plen-ty of family remaining in Cyprus, Maria visits home often. Life there has changed quite a bit since Maria left. The roads are now paved and everyone not only has a telephone, but a cell phone too! Almost everyone drives, and given the proximity to the city and the beach, the village is occupied by many tourists and has been transformed

meet maria GeorGeS – member ProFile

Maria Georges

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(continued on page 18, Georges)

15

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Our mission is to make sure you succeed.

Regardless of your size, location or mission, Bank of America is dedicated to understanding and serving your organization like no one else can. We offer a unique national platform of experienced not-for-profit banking specialists. Working together, they provide you with the technology, experience and financial strength to help you achieve your strategic objectives.

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You have a mission.

16 —bringing not-for-Profit Professionals together—

By Lou Novick, Novick Group, Inc

Most execs are surprised when they learn that one of the biggest sources of

risk faced by their association – may very well be the result of some other organization’s negligence. Contrac-tual risk, the exposure an associa-tion either assumes or transfers via contract is one of the most difficult of all risks to properly insure.

In most contracts you will find a section containing risk allocation provisions relating to the indemni-fication and hold harmless obliga-tions of the parties. The risk transfer event is either an assignment or assumption of risk. In those con-tracts where you are undertaking the indemnification obligation (assump-tion of risk), you should be cautious about not agreeing to assume liabil-ity that is not realistically within the scope of your control. An example of this would be a hotel contract which required you to indemnify and hold the hotel harmless for any liabil-ity other than that caused by their (the hotel’s) sole gross negligence or willful misconduct that occurs dur-ing your use and occupancy of their facility. This could leave the associa-tion responsible for liability it had nothing to with and over which it had little or no control…and perhaps no insurance coverage.

At other times the association may assign risk to a contract part-ner. Your association is well served to obtain contractual assurances from third parties (including exhibi-tors) that they agree to protect your association from liability that arises in connection with services provided under the contract. Ideally, the ob-

ligation should save, indemnify and hold harmless the association, its di-rectors, officers, agents, assigns, etc, from and against any and all liability, including reasonable attorney’s fees, for liability arising in connection with the products or services (or in the case of exhibitors use and occu-pancy of booth space) which are the subject of the contract. Where the association has undertaken a similar risk assumption, as in the case of a convention center lease, the contact party in that agreement (the conven-tion center) should also be included for indemnification purposes in the contract with the exhibitor).

It’s important to keep in mind that the contractual obligation to indem-nify and hold harmless presumes that the other party has the neces-sary financial strength to perform pursuant to the terms of the agree-ment. Often this is not the case. It is always in your best interests to incorporate a requirement that your association be included as an “ad-ditional insured” on the appropriate insurance policies of the contracting party. In doing so, the association has obtained both the contractual obligation from the contracting party to indemnify and, in most cir-cumstances, the presumptive means of funding that obligation (the insur-ance policy).

It is just as important to under-stand the limitations of coverage in these circumstances. The inclusion of a third party as additional insured on the association’s insurance policy (or the inclusion of the association on the policy of one of its vendors) is no assurance that the contractual assumption of risk by the associa-tion is covered by insurance. As a general rule, the association policy covers only the loss associated with

association operations. Very often agreements with hotels, convention centers and landlords allocate re-sponsibility to the association for all claims except those involving willful misconduct or gross negligence on the part of the other party (e.g. the landlord). The association’s con-tractual assumption of risk does not alter the terms of their insurance pol-icy. Associations very often assume the risk of loss brought about largely by the actions a third party for which no insurance coverage exists.

The specific insurance require-ments to seek from vendors (or exhibitors) will vary based on the nature and scale of services provided under contract. In all cases we rec-ommend that the association obtain evidence in the form of a certificate of insurance of the following types of coverage:

Worker Compensation – as may be statutorily required in the ju-risdiction where services are to be provided or performed and employer’s liability of $1,000,000 each accident/$1,000,000 dis-ease/$1,000,000 per employee

Automobile Liability – including hired and non-owned vehicles with minimum limits of $1,000,000 CSL (combined single limit)

Commercial General Liabil-ity (CGL) – $1,000,000 per occur-rence/$2,000,000 aggregate to include bodily injury, property dam-age, personal injury & contractual liability

Where specific limits of coverage are indicated in the agreement, the requirement should be expressed as, “…not less than $x,000,000…”, so as not to infer that the required limit of liability satisfies the risk assumption.

All coverage should be written with

aSSoCiation riSK manaGementindemiFiCation & hold harmleSS ProviSionS and

the need For additional inSUred StatUS

(continued on page 18, Risk Management)

17

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Rated the #1 firm for Directors & Officers insurance for nonprofit organizations by the Tillinghast Survey.

Specializing in insurance & risk management solutions for nonprofit organizations.

Mel Whiteley20 South King StreetLeesburg, VA 20175

Phone: (703) 737-2212Fax: (703) 771-1852

www.ahtins.com/nonprofits

(Sept. Luncheon, continued from page 7)

. . .

. . .

. . .

Related organizations and unre-lated partnerships (Schedule R) were also covered, with information about what constitutes a “controlled orga-nization” for purposes of determin-ing whether interest, annuities, rents and/or royalties are reportable as unrelated business income. Attendees were encouraged to download the IRS form 990 and related schedule instructions from the IRS’s website to use as a further reference in complet-ing the form.

I wrapped up our meeting by pro-viding attendees various resource sites for their use in obtaining information about how they might respond to the questions contained in the new form—including a link to the IRS’s website where they are accepting comments on the new form: Form [email protected] and www.irs.gov and click on Charities & Non-Profits. Our panel then fielded numerous questions from the audience both prior to and after the conclusion of the meeting.

Only the attendees could tell you if “a great time was had by all”!

An avid community volunteer, Matt has a long history of volunteering in many capacities, including serving on the board of directors for a youth service organi-zation, performing database design for the county health department, getting his hands dirty through safety construction projects for Rebuilding Together, per-forming site visits and reviewing grant-funded outcomes for a community founda-tion, and even working in animal husbandry as vet tech for the SPCA. As a trainee of a local volunteer fire department, Matt was the witness and first-responder to a multi-car accident which claimed the life of one driver, but his emergency first aid training helped save the life of a critically-injured man. He now keeps a more routine (if not comparatively mundane) volunteer schedule, regularly manning the USO at Reagan National in support of our troops in the armed forces.

As a former member of the US National Swim Team (although his competitive days are long behind him), Matt still stays active by running, biking, and lifting weights, and enjoys spending time with his partner and three dogs at his home in Arlington.

carriers that are admitted in the jurisdiction where services are to be provided and have at least a rating of A VIII or better in the current AM Best guide. The association (including its directors, officers, employ-ees, agents and assigns) must be named as additional insured for all operations provided under the agree-ment, coverage to apply as primary and without regard to other sources of insurance. The contrac-tor or exhibitors policy must also contain a waiver of subrogation provision and provide at least 30 days written notice to the association of any cancellation or material alteration of coverage or limits. A certificate of insurance reflecting these terms and including the association as additional insured must be provided to the association. The convention center or hotel should also be included as additional insured.

In all circumstances we encourage you to have the

input of counsel in drafting and reviewing the actual contractual terms.

(Risk Management, continued from page 16)

(Barager, continued from page 9)

power walking.In addition to FAR (he has been a member since the days when WAFMR met in

the basement of the Homebuilders building), Mel is a member of ASAE, Aircraft Owner’s and Pilot’s Association, the Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters, the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, the National Parks Conservation Association, and Angel Flights Mid-Atlantic, an organization of volunteer pilots who transport adults and children in need of medical service who otherwise cannot afford the cost of transportation.

When asked the question “So, how did you get the name Mel when your real name is Richard?” The answer is “College.” Not worth the time it takes to tell the story.

(Whiteley, continued from page 13)

. . .

19

From helping children succeed, to improving economic security,

our clients are making the world a better place. For 25 years,

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helping them achieve their missions.

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daniel mcGregorChief Operating OfficerGreenpeace702 H Street, NW, Suite 300Washington, DC [email protected]

ellen h. mcPeakeChief Operating OfficerCenter for Public Integrity910 17th Street, NW, 7th FloorWashington, DC 20006202-481-1235Fax [email protected]

Josephine morris-youngChief Financial OfficerMary’s Center for Child and Maternal Health2333 Ontario RoadWashington, DC 20009202-420-7089Fax [email protected]

roxanne murrayDirector of Human Resources and Administration

Association of American Universities1200 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 550Washington, DC 20005202-408-7500Fax [email protected]

Gar rieglerSenior Director, HR and AdministrationAOAC International481 North Frederick Avenue, Suite 500Gaithersburg, MD 20877301-924-7077 [email protected]

marc SaittaChief Financial OfficerAmerican Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators4301 Wilson Blvd., Suite 400Arlington, VA [email protected]

megan Smith, CPaSenior Director of FinanceAmerican Society for Training and DevelopmentP. O. Box 1443Alexandria, VA [email protected]

Stephen d. trotman, CaeExecutive Vice President, Finance & AdministrationCOMPTEL900 17th Street, NW, Suite 400Washington, DC 20006202-296-6650Fax [email protected]

v. veerappanDirector of FinanceAssociation for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology12300 Twinbrook Parkway, Suite 250Rockville, MD 20852240-221-2915Fax [email protected]

Chuck Wellard, CaeVice President, Finance & AdministrationAmerican Bakers Association1300 I Street, NW, Suite 700 WestWashington, DC [email protected]

(Table Talk, continued from page 13)

(continued on page 21, Table Talk)

20

Maddie Grant

Lindy Dreyer

Jim LaRocca

supports your association’s focus of advocacy, education, membership, certification, accreditation or fundraising. Associations can expand their reach to members, prospec-tive members, donors, sponsors and others through social media conversations. However, first step associations have to “listen” to determine where its target audiences are par-ticipating online. By listening, associations will discover what people are saying about their organization, members, their profession or industry, even their competitors. Listening is the heart of a social media program.

business valueJim LaRocca

shared the busi-ness value of social media. First he discussed the potential financial impact of stronger ties between mem-bers and the association, as the evangelists help to grow the organization. Social media also extends the engagement cycle among members for associa-tion events and conferences – creating buzz before, during and after the event. The excitement can also create interest in the association’s publications, products and services. Lastly, organizations gather lots of information about its members and participants and their online activities (Web site analytics).

Social media provides an excellent member benefit. Through various means members share their knowledge and help each other in their professional development. ASAE’s Decision to Volunteer study showed that members actively engaged in the association are also its key volunteer pool.

The return on investment (ROI) of social media has been the subject of many discussions with very little agreement on how to measure it. The dollar results of social media are difficult to trace since it is not a direct path but most agree that social interactions lead eventually to revenue. Regard-less of ROI, all agree associations need to measure results and monitor your activity so you can make adjustments as needed.

(October, continued from page 10)

(continued on page 22, October)

21

. . .

(Table Talk, continued from page 19)

douglas WilsonDirector of Finance & AdministrationNational Association for College Admis-sion Counseling1050 N. Highland Street, Suite 400Arlington, VA [email protected]

The following FAR members have changed organizations since the last FAR directory. Current contact information is as follows:

andrew JensDirector, Finance & OperationsInternational Council on Clean Transpor-tation1225 I Street, NW, Suite 900Washington, DC 20005202-534-1616Fax [email protected]

terry nixon6813 Springshire WayGreenbelt, MD [email protected]

r. michael SorrellsTax Partner BDO Seidman7101 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 800Bethesda, MD [email protected]

Suzanne StoneChief Financial OfficerNational Abortion Federation1660 L Street, NW, Suite 450Washington, DC 20005202-667-5881 [email protected]

Angie Gupta is no longer with JustinBrad-ley. Her replacement is:

Julien boisDirector of Operations JustinBradley1725 I Street, NW, Suite 300Washington, DC [email protected]

Denotes patron member

Far annUal meetinG

FAR held its annual business meeting at the September 23 luncheon meet-ing. Chair Thomas Nordby thanked the outgoing board members for their service and introduced new board members and committee chairs. Treasurer Susan Sta-ton gave the annual financial report. FAR concluded the fiscal year ending August 31, 2009, with a net of $33,967.72 of income over expenses.

Far Patron members honored

INSIDE Public Accounting announced its 2009 “Best of the Best” accounting firms. Listed in the top 15 list “America’s Best-Managed Accounting Firms” were: Aronson & Company, Bethesda, MD (Craig Stevens); Johnson Lambert & Co., Falls Church, VA (Ted Browning and Steve Lowe); and SC&H Group, Sparks, MD (Willem Roos). Gelman Rosenberg & Freedman, Bethesda, MD (Steve Darr and Trevor Williams) was listed as “honorable mention.” Accounting Today named Tate & Tryon, Washington, DC (Mike Tryon and Jay Sciuto) as one of the 2009 “Best Accounting Firms to Work For.” Con-gratulations to all honorees.

note to all members

Please let us know of any honors or items of interest that you or your firm may receive. Please send information to [email protected]

FAR chairman, Thomas Nordby, introduced this year’s board members during the annual meeting at the September luncheon.

Chairman Nordby, right, presented a past chair-man’s plaque to last year’s chair, Craig Silverio, and thanked him for his year of service to the

organization.

Chairman Nordby, left, and treasurer Susan Staton, presented the financial summary for the

year as part of the annual meeting.

22

. . .. . .

. . .

association examples and risk Lindy offered a few examples of as-

sociations using social media effectively. The Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) which has a staff of five (5) has set up a Twitter accounts for its staff to engage frequently with its members. The American Society of Association Execu-tives (ASAE) is using SharePoint to cre-ate a member community that enables its volunteer groups to work collabora-tively online. Last, the Virginia Associa-tion of Realtors (VAR) uses its blog to communicate with its members.

As social media consultants, Maddie and Lindy spend a lot of time discussing the risks of social media with association executives since it is still relatively new and scary to many people. The group in attendance identified the risks as loss of control of their brand and reputa-tion, people saying bad things about the organization (profession, industry or individuals) or providing misinforma-tion. Some were concerned about the amount of time and resources needed to participate, as well as the potential effect on their employees’ productivity. All valid risks but manageable.

SocialFish’s risk management ap-proach is to first develop a social media strategy. Once the strategy is set, the implementation process of education, monitoring and policies addresses the risks. Most concerns are the perceived loss of control that can be mitigated by providing clear guidelines and expecta-tions to employees and other key stake-holders. Lindy coined the phrase “clarity over control” (see her blog post 5 Ways Clarity Can Replace Control) to address these concerns.

Clarity is reached by educating your staff and key volunteers in the how’s and why’s of social media. Monitor or listen to what is being said and written about your association so you can respond quickly if someone is spreading misin-formation or attacking the association. Last and most importantly, develop the appropriate social media policies to clarify the rules and guidelines for social media activities. Associations can reap the rewards of social media when the proper safeguards in place.

(October, continued from page 20)

Many of her favorite clients during her public accounting years were non-profit organizations, so she never doubted that the not-for-profit sector was where she belonged.

Although earliest employment included the usual suspects – summer employ-ment at a fast food restaurants and providing clerical assistance for her father’s small business – during her college years she was an umpire for a girls’ softball league in Fairfax County.

A native of the Washington, D.C., area, Jenni’s first ancestor in North America arrived in Maryland near St. Mary’s City in the mid-1600s. One of her more recent ancestors settled what is now the historic town of Strasburg, Va., and an-other donated the land and suggested the name for Lincolnia in Alexandria, Va., to honor President Lincoln. Beware of asking her about her family background – she may not stop talking!

Jenni is a member of the Board and the Finance Committee of the Audubon Naturalist Society in Chevy Chase, Md. Earlier in her professional life, she was a Business Volunteer for the Arts with the Cultural Alliance. Her assignments includ-ed setting up accounting systems for Round House Theater, Source Theatre, and Improvisations Unlimited – an improvisational dance company – which led to a position on the Board of Directors.

Jenni is an amateur naturalist and a perennial beginning bird-watcher. She is passionate about the environment, conservation and the outdoors and has taken many courses in the Natural History Field Studies program administered by the USDA Graduate School. Two years ago she went on her all time favorite vacation – to a nature camp on Hog Island, Maine – just like summer camp as a kid. On most weekends you can find her out “in the field” with a pair of binoculars.

(Ford, continued from page 4)

into a pseudo-urban hot spot, for Cyprus that is. Although Maria is very proud of her many accomplishments, she is especially

proud of the day she became a naturalized US citizen. All accomplished goals pale in comparison to her meeting and marrying her husband, and her biggest accomplishment of them all, giving birth to her now 21-month-old daughter. Surprisingly for anyone who knows Maria, she admits to secretly wishing she could be a stay-at-home mom if she could financially. Raising her daughter is the most rewarding experience.

Maria’s career has progressed tremendously since she first delivered the Wash-ington Post door to door with her younger brother while in 6th and 7th grade. Today Maria is a Senior Vice President in the Not for Profit Division (called Healthcare and Institutions) for one of the nation’s largest financial institutions, Bank of America. Her continued focus over the last 17 years is providing custom-ized financial solutions to national and international not-for-profit organiza-tions headquartered in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area, as well as local not-for-profits headquartered in the Washington, DC. She is responsible for the delivery of a positive and seamless client experience and she leads and coordi-nates the delivery of the full capabilities of Bank of America to each of the clients in her portfolio. She also serves as a direct liaison with Bank executive manage-ment. Between her work and family commitments there is not much time left for what she used to enjoy like exercising, cooking, spending time with friends, golfing and reading books. Maria’s latest exploits include potty training, which she highly recommends.

(Georges, continued from page 14)

24

specifically for healthier options to promote good nutrition among their clients. Some other good ideas to look for include canned tuna, dried or canned fruit (in juice or water rather than syrup), dried or canned beans, canned vegetables (low sodium), whole-wheat pastas, and low-sugar cereal. Monetary donations will also be welcome (and FAR will provide envelopes for cash or checks).

The FAR Special Events Commit-tee has organized what promises to be a fun event. Committee members include Yasamin Al-Askari (chair), Sun-Trust Bank; Marie Brodmerkel, Council of Institutional Investors; and Ryan Walsh, AdamsGrayson.

Plans for the day include musi-cians playing holiday favorites while attendees have a beverage and spend the pre-luncheon time networking. After attendees have had a chance to have lunch, the festivities continue with door prizes and games where each table will compete against the other tables (winners each receive a Starbucks gift card). Interspersed with games will be door prize drawings. See the form on page 21 of this newsletter if you are able to contribute either (1) a door prize item, such as a $50 gift card, tickets for an event, etc., or (2) a gift-bag item.

Luncheon choices include either the beef entrée (with asparagus and roasted new potatoes) or pasta prima-vera (vegetarian with roasted veg-etables). Invitations have been mailed and online registration closes at noon on December 7th.

As always, FAR thanks its holiday sponsors (listed on the donor form on page 21). If your firm is listed as a sponsor, please email the office with names of attendees and luncheon entrée choices or return the form you received in the mail. We look forward to seeing you on December 9th.

(Holiday Season, continued from page 1)

issun th s i e come celebrate the holiday season! t · yasamin al-askari, director suntrust bank...

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