President’s Letter
September 22, 2016

Well here we are almost at the end of September. Summer is now officially behind us and some of us have begun gearing up for the season here in South Florida. BUT not before our return outing to Mai Kai. For those of you who didn't make it, you missed Becky Reincke (immediate Past President) shaking her hula on stage. That girl sure has moves. I think everyone will agree it truly was an enjoyable evening with great service starting with a nice outdoor reception by the waterfall and then the always terrific dinner and Polynesian Dancers floor show in the main room. Thank you to the Mai Kai team for making us feel so welcome and for getting Becky up on stage.

It has been a while since we have communicated and I wanted to bring you up to speed on some items with Skål International and Skål USA (the new official name replacing SIUSA). Carlos represented our Skål Club at the NAASC Congress including the Skål USA AGM in Boise Idaho in June and the Skål USA NCM in Little Rock in September. During the AGM and NCM a number of organizational proposals were voted on by the representatives including changing the name of the NAASC Congress to NASC due to very limited attendance from Mexico in past years. The 2017 NASC Congress will be in Toronto. The proposal to reorganize Skål USA passed which eliminated all of the Regional Vice President positions in the US and added 4 new Skål USA board positions for Vice President Membership, Director of Membership (2 positions) and Director of Public Relations & Communication.

In early October you will be receiving a questionnaire which will also serve as a ballot so PLEASE don't ignore it. The board will be asking your opinions on several items the club needs your thoughts and recommendations on. The item we need your vote on is an initiative to change our fiscal year to a calendar year, from the current fiscal year of April-March to the calendar months January-December. All but seven clubs internationally have changed to the calendar year format and we need the membership's approval to join the ranks and make that change to go into effect for the 2018 calendar year. So thank you in advance for your attention to this matter and input on all questions.

Our next dinner meeting will be October 18th at the beautiful new Hilton Hotel - West Palm Beach at the Convention Center that opened this past February. It promises to a wonderful evening and I look forward to seeing you all there. Our November 15th dinner meeting will be at the Doubletree Hotel in Deerfield Beach.

Best wishes to our members celebrating birthdays this month:

Lastly, our fellow Skalleague, Paul Cook is in St Mary's Hospital having had major surgery on Friday September 23nd. He will be in the hospital for at least 10 days and we ask you to keep Paul in your prayers for a speedy recovery.

Remember to log onto our club's website http://www.skal-ftlauderdale-palmbeaches.org to get more information on our club, event pictures and the upcoming Skål Monthly Reception and Dinner Meetings.

Until we meet again may your travels be safe and all your journeys an adventure.

Skål,

Ian
Ian Black
President
Skål International Ft. Lauderdale & Palm Beaches