On Saturday, August 6th, NYRA members from throughout the country gathered at LaGuardia High School in New York City for NYRA’s general meeting. Held annually, NYRA’s general meetings are an opportunity for members to meet in person, hear the annual report, and hear the election results before anyone else. This year eighteen people attended the meeting, many more than NYRA has had in the past. The meeting began with the annual report, which was written and delivered by Alex Koroknay-Palicz. The report offers a detailed account of NYRA activity over the past year, and it will soon be made available online. This years report was far more upbeat and optimistic than reports from years past, indicating a sign of the breakthrough year that we have had.
After the report was read, NYRA members brainstormed strategies for the coming year, especially for recruiting, fundraising, and chapter development. After this discussion, the 2005-2006 board of directors was announced. NYRA’s new board is as follows: Alex Koroknay-Palicz, Keith Mandell, Robert Reynolds, Scott Davidson, Pamela Tatz, Jess Caralize, Jay Leff, Katrina Moncure, and Chris Howell. All of these people have already put considerable time in to the organization, and everyone was pleased with the results. NYRA had fourteen people running for the nine seat board, and many of those present felt that we had more than nine candidates capable of doing a good job. The election was by far the most competitive in NYRA’s history. Outgoing Directors, Scarlett Swerdlow, Jackie Fuller, Kevin Keenan, Arpan Patel and Rich Jahn are all thanked for their service over the last year. Especially Rich who has been on the Board since 2001, and is NYRA’s second longest serving Board Member. Rich is taking a year off to focus on school and may return next year.
