WIM Board
     Member Benefits
     President's Forum
     FAQs
     WIM Alliances

 

    
September 2007

Dear WIM Members and Friends,

I’m excited to have my first opportunity to address you through the President’s Forum and to launch our 2007-8 Program Year, WOW – Words of Wisdom. I have lots of great news to share with you!

First, let me announce the terrific 2007-8 WIM Inc. Board of Directors we have this year. Debbie Siena will be moving up to President-Elect and continue to be our Membership Chair, Maribeth Tanen will be taking over from Diane Martin the building and caring for WIMs Treasury functions (thank you Diane for all your efforts in the past 2 years!). We heartily welcome Carolyn Shiffman to her first WIM board position as Program Chair. MaryLou DeRosa and Eugina Chinsman will continue with WIM Scholorship and ASPIRE respectively (a 2nd year for both!). I’m delighted once again to have such a experienced and talented group of professional business women to serve with.

I also want to acknowledge some important milestones from the last year:

  • Thank you for electing me, for a second year, as President of Women In Management. Since joining WIM in 1997, one thing has been consistent over the years: the diversity and spirit of women who participate in this organization is unlike any other that I know. To address this diversity, our Program Committee works tirelessly to bring speakers, topics and events that address a variety of interests. Our membership committee is always working on ways to recruit more members and get them involved in building our organization. To increase the visibility of WIM our Commications committee works to keep us in the press and get in front of professional women that have yet to attend one of our events.
      
  • A Recap of Last Year’s WIM Programs. I mentioned variety…well, here’s a line-up of what we offered members and guests last year:
    • A bevy of top-notch speakers who included Evelyn Follit, Stephanie Hanbury-Brown, Milbry Polk, Pamela Lenehan, Carina Ramerez, Lisa Yarnell and Meredith Reuben;
    • And speaker topics that ranged from “How to Optimize YOU,” “Women Who Have Made It to the Top and are Helping Other Women to Grow,” “Women of Discovery,” “six Key Lessons from 35 Top Female Executives,” “Starting and Financing a New Business – A Women’s Experience,” and “Multi-Level Leadership – Infuse Authority Throughout Your Organization.”
    • A Happy Hour event in which current members could network with Senior WIM Alumni;
    • A WIM Scholarship fundraising event at the Darien Sports Shop which proved to be a lot of fun for a lot of people;
    • A Holiday Party that topped all others;
       
  • In addition, if this were not enough, we also introduced several administrative efficiencies that have enabled us to reduce our operating expenses:
    • We have streamlined the New Member Application/Review process
    • We have outsourced administrative needs on an “as needed” basis
       
  • The 4th Annual Lobster Bake – I was happy to host this year’s event in my backyard. As always this event was well attended, the lobster and the conversations and networking a big hit. Make sure you don’t miss this event next summer. The event has become an annual time for WIM members retired, past and present to mingle in a casual location.
      
  • The Professional Women’s Climate. As we continue through 2007, the economy continues to challenge our employment options. We see more women making changes to support their families, be that spouses, children or aging parents. We have seen more and more women responding to these challenges by redefining their employment options, careers and themselves. Over the years 10 years, this continues to be one of the strongest characteristics of our organization. Women In Management is a place that:
      
    • professional women get exposed to professionals that make them think differently,
    • women interested in building long-term effective networks join as members
    • you find the tools to carve a new and more satisfactory path in their lives.

Continue to read on and see some of the plans for our 2007-8 WIM year and read more words of wisdom.

Looking forward to seeing you at our coming events,

Best regards,
Linda Kuppersmith
2007-8 President