Letter from Committee Co-Chairs
My name is Doug Deutsch. I, along with the other co-chairs of the Young and New Members Committee, Brian Shaw and Katie Pamenter, want to use this opportunity to update you as to what the committee is doing and, hopefully, encourage you to get more involved with ABI and the YNMC.
First, we want to alert you to the upcoming YNMC program at the Winter Leadership Conference in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in early December. We joined forces with the Real Estate Committee to put on a program on the homebuilder industry. If you have read the recent “bankruptcy watch” news articles, you know that the subprime industry is not the only industry impacted by home sale price decreases and a contraction in available mortgage financing. In fact, given recent events, we expect that several of our panelists—and some of you—will be in the middle of at least one or two new homebuilding industry company bankruptcies at the time of the Winter Leadership Conference. This program simply could not be more timely. We hope you will join us. You will not be disappointed.
Second, you may have noticed that several new columns to the newsletter were recently introduced. They are designed to expose YNMC members to various other committees of ABI and to introduce you to ABI’s leadership. More changes will come but we would love to get you more involved with the newsletter. Do you have an idea for an YNMC article? Legal, financial, news-oriented or fun articles are always welcome. Write an article for the YNMC newsletter or, if you are interested in another committee, write an article for that newsletter. Additional writing opportunities are also available (more on that in a future newsletter). Getting involved at this level really starts your relationship with ABI. If articles are not your bailiwick, tell us what interests you. Start something new or become involved with planning one of the several educational programs we sponsor each year. We can always use your help!
Finally, and most importantly, if Brian, Katie or I can do anything to answer questions about ABI or help you become more involved in ABI, let us know. We hope to see you in Rancho Mirage in December!