January 5, 2022
Happy New Year Club Presidents:
I hope and trust all of you had an enjoyable and safe New Year’s Eve and Day! I sincerely appreciate the trust you’ve placed in me as your Skål USA President for 2022. With the help and support of the Executive Committee, I promise to do my best to make Skål USA stronger and more relevant than ever before.
Before I continue, a Public Service Announcement: If you haven’t already done so, please take a few minutes to complete the 2022 Club Data Form for your individual club (https://skalusa.org/2022-skal-club-officer-information/). This is an important annual duty of each club and helps us to ensure we keep in touch with our club leadership! Completing by the end of January is also a prerequisite for being eligible for Skal USA Club of the Year.
Please keep in mind that I and the entire Executive Committee work for you. So please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us with suggestions or questions – especially on retention and regrowing of membership.
Pam Davis, (Skål Hawaii), VP Public Relations & Communications, and the PR team will continue to demonstrate how supportive and relevant Skål is to our members through webinars, e-newsletters, social media, and press releases, and she wants to know what your club is doing. So, please send Pam updates on what your club and members are doing so this can be shared with everyone.
Karen Trevino, (Skål Arkansas), VP Membership along with Director Mark Irgang and certain leaders from our clubs will be reaching out to each of you during the year and sharing your feedback with the EC and other clubs as appropriate.
Art Allis, (Skål Tucson), VP Finance, continues to keep us fiscally sound as well as helping those dedicated Active members who may be faced with financial stress.
We welcome Alton Hagen (Skål Kansas City) back to the EC as this year’s VP Administration and look forward to him working behind the scenes to ensure our membership and legal obligations are up to date while supporting each EC member’s efforts.
Holly Powers, (Skål Boston and Southwest Florida) continues as our International Skål Councilor. She continues to be a leader on this committee and a strong voice for all U.S. clubs.
Of course, special thanks from all of us to our now immediate past president, Jim Dwyer (Skål New Jersey) who did an outstanding job of navigating us through the past year’s challenges while supporting the EC team members in their roles and duties. We love you, Jim!
Also, we would like to send our thanks to Morgan Maravich and Tom Moulton, who leave the EC after years of faithful and competent service. We appreciate everything you have done.
Special thanks also to Eric Braendel with the American Bus Association and Skål USA’s Administrator. His behind-the-scenes efforts in support of Skål USA continue to make each of us look good.
Lastly, I also wanted to give a shout-out to Skål USA’s past president and incoming Skål International President, Burcin Turkkan (Skål Atlanta). We’re very proud of everything Burcin has accomplished in the Skål Universe over the years, and we look forward to supporting her efforts in 2022.
To paraphrase what Jim Dwyer stated so eloquently a year ago: “Remember! Skål is all of us. We’re Family! We’re local, national, and global. Don’t hesitate to reach out to others in your club and in other clubs to grow your network and your friendships. It will pay dividends both professionally and personally.”
Yours in Skål,
Richard Scinta
President, Skål USA 2022
