I want to thank you all for your votes of approval and I look forward to serving the Long Island chapter for the 2012 year. I want to say a special thank you to our Past Presidents and all the amazing women who have served over the years on the EWGALI Board, our Chairs and our committee volunteers, we could not have done it without you all!

Here in the northeast our EWGA golf season is over, but our work continues and your new board is meeting and planning wonderful events, social & golf; educational opportunities, clinics & seminars; and of course, more leagues and competitive events for 2012. I am excited to be working with our new Board and they have lots of ideas, but we will need your help to make our dreams a reality.

11 years ago when I was invited to my first Tee Off dinner, I had never even touched a golf club! I soon discovered that part of the EWGA mission is to encourage personal development through volunteering. The EWGA encourages our members to step up and try on roles they may not have done before but want to learn more about. For me, EWGA has been a life changing experience and I have grown personally and professionally through all my EWGA volunteer experiences.

As a volunteer organization, we rely on our members for leadership, however we must also be mindful of the fact that we are all volunteers. This year we will reorganize the Board, realign the Chair positions and build stronger committees. We will be forming committees event by event, enabling our volunteers to make a commitment to an event rather than a whole year of events. It is our hope that more of you will be able to participate and try different roles as you grow with the EWGA experience.

One of the big changes that you will see this year is a new website! Every chapter in the EWGA is in the process of migrating to the new sites and our web team at Louis Marketing is working to make our transition seamless. We hope to go live in the early part of the year so stay tuned!

I want to hear from you, tell us your ideas and comments, tell us how can we be better and tell us how you will help be a better chapter! I look forward to meeting you and working with you in 2012.

Thank you,
Susan Pickering
President, EWGA Long Island Chapter