I am seeking the position of President of Skål USA for 2020. I have been an active member and Officer of Skål International Sacramento since 2000. I am very passionate about Skål and have served as President of my Club 3 different times as well as holding various other Board positions on the local level. When I took over as President of Skål Sacramento in 2005 we were on the brink of extinction as we only had 15 members and almost half of those were retired. I did not want to see our Club fold so with the help of the board we embarked on a membership drive that lasted several years and we now have an active and vibrant club with close to 35 members and at one point we were over 50 members.
I have always viewed Skål more on a local level until the Sacramento club hosted the NAASC Congress in 2013. The planning and execution of that event and the friendships I made with fellow Skålleagues from all over the USA and Canada changed my view of Skål forever. I was so inspired by NAASC that I have attended every Congress since 2013 and also World Congress 2019.
We are all very blessed to work in the best industry in the world and our organization is at the forefront of this industry. We need to continue to grow and thrive and be the trusted voice for the industry and its continued growth in a dynamic and fast changing world. My focus as VP Membership the last two year has been to identify cities to start new Clubs. After not having opened a new Club in 17 years we have opened two new Clubs in the past two years in Southwest Florida and Phoenix, AZ. I feel that I can contribute to continuing membership growth and hope to start more new Clubs in 2020 as Skål USA President. The main focus for me and the EC in 2020 will be Membership growth and retention. We need to have a strong focus on Young Skål Professionals and we need to grow this segment of our membership bases. We also need more Young Skål to have a voice on the EC and that will be a key idea I would like to move towards. I would like your vote and I promise I will serve the position with honor and will represent this organization with a high level of professionalism to uphold the ideals of Skål and continue to move Skål USA to the highest level on the world stage.
