NABE Strives to Serve Members
President’s Letter

Dear Fellow NABE Members,

Best wishes to all of you in this new year of plentiful activity and reflection. 

Given that it is an election year, with a host of policy issues to discuss, I do hope you are making plans to join us at the March 3-4 Policy Conference held in Washington D.C., at the Marriott Crystal City Hotel.  Thanks to Robert Fry and Ken Simonson, along with swat team assistance from a host of other NABE members—Chris Varvares, Richard Brown, Ann Dunbar, Dean Foreman, Devon Herrick, Sydney Smith Hicks, Bruce Kellison, Stuart Mackintosh, Robert McGee, Maia Pykina, Brooks Robinson, John Silvia, Kevin Swift, Sean Snaith, Bill Strauss, and Charles Steindel among others.  You will be pleased with the high-quality content and experts on the agenda.  Indeed, this is one of the hallmarks of our professional association—bringing programs to you that stimulate and renew your contacts with others in your fields. 

Along with the planning for the conference, we have been very busy with a variety of other planning activities.  The 50th Annual Meeting will be one that you will not want to miss.  Lynn Reaser, along with Kevin Kliesen, is leading the charge in planning the meeting this year, to be held in Washington, D.C.   Alan Greenspan has agreed to be our honorary chair, and already we have secured participation from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the President’s Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Edward Lazear.  Please set the dates aside on your calendar—Oct. 5-7—and plan to join in what will be a most exciting celebration of the 50 past and 50 future!

Membership in our organization is valuable to all of us because it provides a vibrant group for all of our professional activities that we sponsor.  It is stimulating to see former associates, new colleagues, and newcomers at our meetings and other events. 

What we are finding is many of our members are reaching retirement age and moving into a different phase of their professional years.  We hope you stay a member during this time—we need you!  The NABE Foundation, our nonprofit arm that is dedicated to providing educational programs, can use your volunteerism for fundraising and program development.  For example, are you an experienced grant writer?  Our NABE/CalTech forecast aggregation experiments, sponsored by the NABE Foundation, may qualify for educational grant funding.  Given our volunteer structure, we could benefit from an experienced NABE member who may give a hand in finding such opportunities.

NABE has wonderful opportunities for newer members to get more involved with NABE.  “Get Connected” is NABE’s new program for early and mid-career professionals that will be launched at the Policy Conference in March.  Spearheaded by Chris Swann, a team of NABE members has put together a unique mix of networking and knowledge-based programs designed to provide volunteer opportunities and to enrich the careers of NABE members.  See the related article here.

Do you know students and professionals who could really get their money's worth from a NABE membership?  Pass along our website address and a personal note telling them what you find most valuable.  Or let us know whom you may find as potential recruits, and we will follow up.  Thanks for thinking of us!

Wishing you the best from NABE—and see you at the Policy Conference!

Ellen Hughes-Cromwick
NABE President