Ladies and Gentlemen: A FYI from the Great Lakes Division. As many of you probably already know, I was very enthused with the introduction of Development into the League process. Representing a Division that has a lot of major cities and a sizeable population of Amateurs, it seemed natural to have thoughts about the possibilities of raising funds within the Division for the League and it's programs. Working closely with Mary Hobart these past couple of months, we have been putting together the early beginnings for a Division Development Volunteer program. We are in the early beginning of Development within the Division. Hopefully we are developing a "program model" that may be able to be followed in other Division as well. If you are interested, Mary has put together a single page job description/outline that we will be following, for the most part. Below is a copy of the information being sent throughout the Division. Assistant Director for Development Named About a year ago, the ARRL Board mandated a "Professional" Development Program be put into place, and Staff was to hire a full time Development Director. That program is now in place and Mary Hobart has been hired as the Chief Development Officer . We are very fortunate to find someone with the background and expertise that Mary brings to the job. As the former Vice President for Development for Connecticut Public Television and Radio National Public Radio and 20 years of Development experience , she certainly is familiar with the "not for profit" world that the League falls within. Like many private Colleges and Universities have discovered over the years, having a strong Development program, and building a large investment portfolio, can provide protection and funding for the future of the Organization. To help our Division lead the way into this new era of "Development" I have appointed Gary Des Combes, N8EMO, as our first Assistant Director for Development for the Great Lakes Division. Over the months ahead, Gary will be working closely with Mary Hobart and I, to put into place a comprehensive Development program. Gary is from the Dayton area. Over the years he has chaired many of the Dayton Hamvention Committees and has also served as President of DARA. You can reach Gary at: n8emo_@msn.com. Please help me welcome Gary to the position as he starts this new adventure for our Division. You will have an opportunity to meet Gary if you attend the Dayton Hamvention later this year. 73...George