President’s Letter

Dear Fellow NABE Members:

NABE has been abuzz with activity this spring with a number of different events and initiatives.  It also appears that we have arrested the secular and cyclical decline in membership, with small but important gains during the past six months.

The Policy Conference was an event to be remembered.  Kudos and thanks to Stuart Mackintosh and his exemplary team for staging a conference featuring major policy leaders who make the headlines on a regular basis.  Despite trepidations over lingering effects of the recession, we had record attendance, sponsorships, and media coverage.  C-SPAN broadcast almost the entire conference live.  A number of attendees left the conference vowing never to miss another major NABE event.

The Chapters are busy.  It was my pleasure to visit and speak to both the Houston and Dallas chapters last month and I came away highly impressed with the energy of their organizations.  Helped by our Chapter Committee Chairman, Chad Moutray, our new Midsouth chapter in Memphis, Tennessee, is up and running and NABE members in Birmingham and Cincinnati are discussing forming new local affiliates.  We are also trying at the national level to provide more support for the chapters.  Currently, we are running a test program with NABE serving as a “back office” of sorts for the Los Angeles Chapter.  Expect to see more programs to relieve some of the administrative tasks now burdening our affiliates.

NABE’s educational initiative took it first step this month with the launch of an expanded Professional Development Seminar (PDS), featuring some exciting innovations.  First, a dual track curriculum was offered, providing returning members with the opportunity to attend an entirely new and different program.  Second, those NABE members unable to make the trip to Washington, D.C., were able to participate in the program via webcast.  Third, in an effort to save trees, each attendee was handed a flash drive, courtesy of Haver Analytics, including all of the course materials, replacing the voluminous notebooks of the past.  Finally, all attendees were recognized for their participation at the PDS and received NABE’s new Certificate in Economic Measurement.  If you were unable to attend the PDS, NABE will begin offering this certificate program online in the coming weeks.  Warm words of appreciation to the NABE Foundation and the program committee, comprised of Maurine Haver, Jack Kleinhenz, Rosemary Marcuss, and Rich Wobbekind, for making this year’s program such a success.

Our Roundtables, under the leadership of Kevin Swift, have staged a record number of teleconferences so far this year, providing invaluable information on topics ranging from health care to Greece.  Spurred by the work of our Communications Committee, headed by Kim Beaton, our Real Estate Roundtable also conducted our first webinar with its success suggesting that this format is likely to become the norm for future broadcasts.

Our membership focus continues as we seek to make NABE the “must belong” organization for all professionals who use economics in their work.  Under the leadership of Parul Jain, April has been designated “Fed month.”  I have written to directors of all of the Research Divisions at the twelve districts of the Federal Reserve in addition to the Board itself, asking them to encourage NABE membership in their organizations at a discounted rate during April.  We plan to target another key market segment in May.

Finally, our international outreach program continues with planning for our delegation’s trip to China at the end of June under way.  We have assembled an outstanding team from our membership and aspire to promote awareness of NABE abroad as we meet with a number of major policy leaders in Beijing and Shanghai.

These are just some of the projects we are pursuing as we strive to add value to your NABE membership.  As always, I would welcome any of your comments or suggestions as to how we can serve you better.

Sincerely yours,

Lynn Reaser

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