Straight From the Gavel
By Terry Dermody, Acting President
"....the rest is up to you."

This will be my last column as your Acting President. I am stating this without any sadness or regret but with excitement and anticipation because a milestone event in the life of the SCS Alumni Association is about to take place. The next time you read this column it will be authored by the formally elected President of the Association.

To most, the difference may seem very subtle but to the Association, it will be dramatic. For the reasons stated in the lead article of this issue of "Reflections", formal elections of the Board of Directors of the Association will take place in June and will be announced at the "All Class Reunion Luncheon on July 15^th ".

As a result of these elections, your association will be formally recognized and will be sanctioned as the official representative of the Sidney Central School Alumni Community. This will allow the Association to pursue its vision with the full support of the membership.

I appeal to all paid members to participate in the recognition process and show your support for the Association by registering your votes for the candidates listed on the ballot.

I make a special appeal to those who are not currently paid members; those who have not sent the $5.00 membership dues into the Association within the last year, but still enjoy the fruits and benefits of the Association. Please join the process. It is not too late. You can exercise your right to vote and register your support for the Association by returning your ballot along with a completed membership application and the $5.00 membership dues.

Ballots can be found in this issue of "Reflections" or on the Alumni Web site at www.sidneyalumni.org . Each of the candidates listed on the ballot has volunteered their service to the Association and each candidate has played a vital role in making your Association a reality and is deserving of your support.

I particularly address those of you who were instrumental in providing support and inspiration during the formative stages of the Association through your ideas and suggestions but have since become invisible. We heard you then and as a result "Reflections" was expanded, an Alumni Website was launched, Alumni Reunion Weekend was created, a scholarship fund was instituted and a true Alumni/Community organization was born. But where are you now? Please step forward again and share your support and inspiration by casting your ballot for the candidates. We need you. To paraphrase an exercise from Mrs. Davis' typing class "NOW IS THE TTME FOR ALL GOOD ALUMNI TO COME TO THE AID OF THE ASSOCIATION."

The message is clear .....the rest is up to you.

Finally, there seems to be confusion over who is a paid member of the Association. The confusion is legitimate and needs to be addressed. The confusion has arisen over the terminology  annual" membership dues. Those who have sent their $5.00 dues each year have done so at different times of the year. The expectation (and understandably so) is that your membership will remain current until a year has elapsed. However, since the Association does not have the resources to send reminders when the membership expires, we tried to simplify matters by having all memberships expire on July 31 which is the end of the Association's fiscal year. This was stated on the membership application. Therefore, those of you who sent your dues in the month of January had the expectation that it remained current until the following January when, in fact, it expired in July. This is the reason that many of you were surprised to learn that you were not listed as a paid member. I am not conceding that this is the best method and the Association will be exploring options to make the process more efficient.

Because of the confusion, we have extended the membership for everyone who has paid within the last 18 months to be included as current members (listed on page 18 of this issue). Even though you are shown as a current member, we ask that if you have not sent your dues since last July that you consider sending your dues for the 2000-2001 annual term and we remind all of you to renew your membership for the year 2001-2002 year by remitting your dues by July 31^st. This money is vital to the financial health of the Association..

The cost of publishing and mailing "Reflections" alone is $1,000 per issue. If we are to continue to fund the activities of the Association we depend on the dues of the members. This is the financial reality.
..........the rest is up to you.