President's Letter

 

Best Membership Numbers in Our History:  Chicago BTA had a very successful year in 2007 and I know 2008 is going to be even better.  I’m happy to report that we ended 2007 with the best membership numbers in our history with 315 total members, compared to 286 total members at the end of 2006.  This means that we’re well on our way to becoming the largest local chapter, based on membership totals, when compared against the other 42 local chapters of NBTA!

 

Chicago BTA is in good company with four other chapters of NBTA that have more than 250 members.  Those chapters are: 

 

Thanks to each and every one of our members for your vote of confidence in Chicago BTA.  If you know someone who isn’t currently a member, please tell them about Chicago BTA and encourage them to join so we can continue to build on the momentum of 2007! 

 

Committee Participation:  But just being #1 in membership isn’t our only goal.  What’s most important is delivering quality education to our members and we have many active committees that participate directly in doing just that.  All of the ten committees of Chicago BTA play an important role in our success and are committed to working hard in 2008.  If you would like to participate on a committee, please let me or one of the other board officers know.  I know you will find the experience rewarding. 

 

Thanks to our Sponsors:  I’m very excited and encouraged at the level of interest that has been expressed to me by potential future sponsors of our events and of our chapter.  We are so fortunate to have so many strong supporters and I know our sponsors will be key to achieving all of our goals for 2008.  Thanks to all of our past and future sponsors for believing in Chicago BTA!

 

Name Change to Chicago Business Travel Association:  Provided the proposed name change is approved by our membership, we are planning to celebrate our new name at the Q2 Education Day on June 25th.  The name change is being recommended to avoid past confusion with the Chicago BTA name.  We are also planning to combine our Allied and Associate membership categories into one Allied category, so our two membership categories will be Direct and Allied.  Both of the above changes will require a vote by our membership to change our bylaws, so be on the lookout for that message soon.

 

Thanks in advance for your continued support of Chicago BTA in 2008. I’m committed to ensuring that Chicago BTA is a valuable resource to all of its members in their professional growth and development.  If you have ideas that you’d like to share, please let me know.  The strength of our association rests with the continued involvement of its members.

 

Carole Liberti, President

Chicago Business Travel Association