The InterConnection VOLUME 6
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ISSUE 3
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MAY/JUNE 2018
State of the Association Address Phil Lattanzio, CCE
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• Terry Lawler, CBF, CCRA
t the NACM Connect Annual Meeting held on April 19, 2018 at the Meridian Conference Center in Rolling Meadows, IL, NACM Connect President & COO, Phil Lattanzio, CCE, made the following remarks relative to the state of the association. Thank you for being here this afternoon, we are glad to have you with us and thank you for making 2017/2018 another successful year. I’d like to personally thank the members, Board of Directors, advisory boards, committee volunteers, vendor partners, instructors and the NACM Connect staff. This year, as you know, we added yet another region to NACM Connect. The western part of Missouri including the Kansas City area and the state of Kansas became part of the Association in late 2017. We now operate in nine states concentrated in the Midwest. We are a financially strong association, exceeding both the consolidated and operating budgets, and our cash flow position continues to improve. NACM Connect continues to be the largest of the NACM affiliates. We enjoy a 90% membership retention rate. During the fiscal year we brought in a total of 189 new members. We have also successfully completed our second year of the Elite Members Program. In collection services with the help of our partners at Caine & Weiner and NACM Southwest we were also able to grow. Collections in the Great Lakes Region grew 17% over last fiscal year with 45 new placers. Collections in our other regions where we partner with Caine
(CCRA Designation of Excellence)
This year we had eight nominations for National awards and three finalists, Ed Bell, CBA, WW Grainger for the CBA Designation of Excellence; Martine Dyer, CBF, ACCO Brands, for the CBF Designation of Excellence and Erica White, CCE, Ferguson Industries for the CCE Designation of Excellence. Phil Lattanzio, CCE, presents the State of the Association Address at the NACM Connect Annual Meeting in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
& Weiner revenue grew 24% over last fiscal year with 55 new placers. The Credit Reporting Team has had an exceptional year showing double digit growth for the fifth consecutive year. Sixty-eight students went through NACM Connect Institute of Credit in all regions. Many of our members earned designations with 33 new CBA’s, 11 new CBF’s and 2 new CCE’s. Numerous CCE’s also recertified. With the purchase of video conferencing equipment we have been able to offer certification classes to more students across NACM Connect in real time. This capability has allowed over 20 additional students to begin their journey to certification. The Robert L. Vodraska Scholarship Foundation again awarded numerous scholarships in the amount of over $6,000. Last year at Credit Congress NACM Connect had three National Award Winners:
• Larry O’Brien, CCE
(O.D. Glaus Award)
• Kevin Stinner, CCE, CCRA
(Emerging Leader Essay Award)
NACM Connect now serves as administrators for 90 industry credit groups in all regions. We have added several new groups this year including two international groups and several benchmarking groups. Forty additional members have chosen to contribute their full AR data to the NACM National Trade Credit Report database. In our staffing area we were able to place 14 people in temp-to-hire positions and had six direct hire placements. I am very optimistic for the upcoming fiscal year. Our goal this year is to continue our growth in terms of both revenue and membership while providing our members with exceptional products and services. I am looking forward to working with the new Board of Directors and Advisory Boards, my staff, our business partners and especially our membership. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, I plan on standing here next year to tell you all about it. Lastly, I would like to express to you that I am honored and privileged to be the President of NACM Connect.
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Thank you!