By: Dale DeBlois, NNECERAPPA President- Colby College

The past couple of years have brought numerous important and challenging issues for the board to deliberate and act upon. They involve chapter, regional, as well as international involvement with the various boards in everyone’s attempt to streamline, standardize and realize the benefits from such actions. The following is a brief synopsis of the various tasks addressed by recent past and the present chapter boards.

With NNECERAPPA again leading the way (the first ERAPPA chapter signing the APPA affiliates agreement), after extended dialogue between our chapter president and  E. Lander Medlin, APPA executive vice president  to address concerns from the chapter level, we are now operating as a more cohesive organization from the international to the chapter level.

With research into our original founding and subsequent documents, we discovered a few items that required updating due to our present financial standing as well regulatory changes. In the fall of 2008, we updated our incorporation status and this past summer through our auditing process, discovered changes were necessary due to our present and forecasted financial position. We are now in excellent position to move forward as the front runner in helping develop the best trained facilities personnel in Northern New England.

As we stand back and look at the many things accomplished by this chapter, the sites we have seen and the great people we have met and come to appreciate and rely upon, we sometimes take for granted the people that help make what we do possible. We are a volunteer board supported by an incredible membership comprised of institutional members as well as business partners. This combination of talent and energy has helped produce better trained professionals, safer environments to live and work in as well as lifetime relationships that could never be realized elsewhere.

To help insure the continued healthy relationship between our members, both institutional as well as business partner, we have established an ethics policy for all to follow as well as a newly established recognition policy to help thank and appreciate the many long standing members we have in our organization.

This past year has once again shown the strength and staying power of NNECERAPPA. In economic conditions not seen in our lifetime, we as a chapter hosted the most successful regional meeting in the history of our glorious chapter. With an incredible host committee organizing, participation of our loyal institutional members and business partners, a fabulous city, we were able to put on a meeting that will be remembered for the foreseeable future. From the grand opening, to the fireworks and lobster bake on House Island, to the closing lunch, NNECERAPPA once again holds its head high and is comfortable LEADING THE WAY!