Message from the President:

Friends, the election maybe over however the work of the Association has just begun and I am calling all members to action. Economic conditions at the state, national and international level are in turmoil. Our programs have already seen reductions for the first time in decades and now state officials are calling for more reductions to the educational systems that our programs are embedded in, mid-year. Our current financial times compel us to put our best thinking forward to educate our new legislators, parents, community members and school officials on the business of “child nutrition”. Our ongoing efforts must be accomplished while containing our costs, reducing our expenses and finding new revenue sources. We must be proactive in planning and decision making, for we hold the destiny of the Association in our hands.

This year during the budget approval process the Executive Board made a decision to finance the Association’s lobbying efforts. We have put our best foot forward to be recognized by other allied Associations, in our districts and by our elected officials in the state legislature. While this decision benefits all of us who work in the Child Nutrition field throughout the state, the fiscal burden falls on our Association. I will be contacting Chapters Leaders and inviting them to help support our lobbying efforts both monetarily and by joining us at our Legislative Action Conference in Albany this February.

I am asking every member to generate new ideas with out of the box thinking. I am calling you all to demonstrate fiscal diligence at the chapter, area, state levels and in your own districts. Take the lead; let the others see how we accomplish our goals and let them follow. I thank you in advance for you cooperation and I would truly value any ideas, comments and feedback.

Enthusiastically Yours,

Lisa S. Ostrowski, SNS