Escape from Alcatraz

Austin ChapterPresident-elect Guy Draper files this report.

I enjoyed the opportunity to attend November's TSCPA Executive Board Meeting held in San Francisco with our President, Jan Keeling, and Executive Director, Diane Joiner.

There were a remarkable number of topics addressed during the eight hours of meeting spread over two days. The most notable topic was that of projected budget shortfalls over the coming years and our options for addressing it. It has been many years since our dues were adjusted. Increased operating costs, slow membership growth and our aging membership are creating a sustainability challenge making it likely that the board will need to increase dues in the coming year.

It was good to watch Donna Wesling, Chairman, and Jesse Dominguez, Board Member, in action representing the Austin Chapter at the state level. They are certainly representing us well.

Attending the meeting was a great opportunity to get to know leaders from around the state in a more compressed format. I had been corresponding with Fred Timmons, Chairman-elect, before the meeting concerning TSCPA committee nominations. Fred intends to follow Donna's initiative to have members below the age of forty serve on every committee next year and is looking for good candidates and it was really beneficial to have the opportunity to speak with him personally.

Our host hotel was The Fairmont, one of the big four, right on the top of Nob Hill. Chinatown was just a few blocks over and so we were able to tumble down the hill and browse the open markets and have dinner in one of the Dim Sum shops that had tables…really good.

On Friday afternoon, we toured Alcatraz Island as a group. It was rainy and cold which made the island seem even more ominous. The tour and the boat ride were wonderful and everyone's hair was a mess, except mine.

Attending the TSCPA Executive Board Meeting was a great opportunity for me. I believe the experience and the contacts will be beneficial to me in serving as President in 2012/2013 as well as future roles at the state and local levels.

Guy Draper CPA
Austin CPA Chapter President-Elect

 

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