This was a wonderful year. As much as I have joked about my impatience to join the Past Presidents’ Club, it has been a privilege to have been the president of this organization. I am amazed every week by the creativity, dedication and plain hard work of so many colleagues and friends. Several past presidents have offered not only necessary moral support but also the kind of hands-on effort that gets things done: they’ve ordered food, organized lunches, made sure mysterious notices required by the by-laws make it into the newsletter on time, gone to New York to represent us at WBASNY meetings, chaired major committees, and sat on other committees. They have not been sitting around resting on their laurels (or anything else).

The executive committee has responded to more pleas for help, proofreading and advice than they could have anticipated. I am indebted to them for their cheerful assistance and friendship. The board sat through meetings that had little to do with Roberts’ Rules of Order and which, I am certain, sometimes seemed interminable. I owe them for showing up and overlooking the gaffes. Our WBASNY delegates have endured meetings that had too much to do with Roberts’ Rules. They’ve also been thoughtful and patient, not to mention a lot of fun on the train. And members, many of whom I have not even met, have also come through time and again with opinions, suggestions, and plenty of feedback. And, because I have no other support staff, Ava has had to provide a lot of generous assistance. To all of you, I am grateful.

CDWBA’s committees have been hard at work. The awards committee has been very active and is currently busy finalizing the awards to be given at the installation dinner - join us to see who is being honored this year. The breast cancer awareness committee once again organized members to participate with To Life! in support of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. CDWBA’s team walked in celebration of Ava’s 10th year cancer free, an anniversary we are thrilled to observe. CDWBA’s CARE/classroom project committee put on 8 programs in 7 schools this year, educating kids on the financial obligations and the dangers of credit. As usual, instructors and teachers commonly ask us back the next year. The caregivers’ committee offered two lunchtime programs presented by local health care providers, which educated or supported our members. The diversity and gender fairness committee hosted a very successful program at the law school examining why diversity must matter to the bench and the profession.

The judicial reception committee outdid itself again, hosting judges from the Court of Appeals, the Third Department, the Court of Claims, Supreme Court and other courts. 130 people attended the reception, held at Court of Appeals Hall. The judicial screening committee screened candidates for the third and fourth judicial districts, including Supreme Court, Family Court and County Court. As you’ve already heard, we expect a recommendation on May 11th from the judicial screening task force about whether to take a hiatus from judicial screening to explore other options.

The judicial task force (not to be confused with the judicial screening task force) spent a lot of time and energy on advocacy in support of the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor - time obviously well spent. The task force also undertook other chores in connection with advocacy surrounding our efforts to diversity the benches in the Capital District. The newly reinvigorated law day committee now has a chair and three members and is organizing CDWBA’s participation in Law Day. They have plans to add a legal clinic next year.

The membership committee again met CDWBA’s goal of 300 Class I members, in addition to our many associate and student members. While meeting that mark, the committee also organized our kick-off and holiday party. By the time you read this that committee will also have hosted CDWBA’s first annual Sweet Success in celebration of the professional accomplishments of Mary Colwell, Anne Reynolds Copps, Diane Davis, Susanne Dolin, Lois Goland, Yvonne Hennessey, Lisa Joslin, Carmela Pellegrino, Stephanie Piel, Patricia Salkin, Lori Sievers, Janet Silver, and Karen Simons. It looks to be a big hit. And that committee will also have hosted lunch with Professor Laurie Shanks and Assistant United States Attorney Beth Coombe, who will talk about their experiences balancing their personal lives with high profile criminal trials. In addition, the membership committee has launched a new era of badges and mementos. Reusable badges have recently made their first appearances to much acclaim. Look for CDWBA pens and mugs soon.

The mentoring committee has a new approach: social networking groups linking CDWBA members with Albany Law students. A lesbian lawyers and legal workers group is newly formed and plans quarterly meetings. Look for new mentoring groups in the year to come. Speed mentoring continues and continues to be popular. The newly formed past presidents’ circle will meet quarterly (join us on June 29). That group will continue to provide advice, guidance and a sense of perspective to CDWBA leadership. After hosting a lunch in the fall, the working mothers’ committee spent the rest of the year updating CDWBA’s landmark workplace leave policy survey. The committee revised the survey, disseminated it, pursued employers to complete and return it, and tabulated the results. That would have been a full year’s job but they did not quit there. Collaborating with the CLE committee, they put together an excellent CLE at which they announced the survey results. The working mothers’ committee is gearing up to capitalize on this year’s work – let Ava know if you are interested in joining up. And the new women in government committee got itself organized this year and looks forward to several events next year.

And that is not all. WBASNY is hosting the annual convention at Honor’s Haven Resort & Spa in Ellenville, NY from May 21-23. Convention is an easy drive from Albany this year, making day trips possible. And, finally, please join us for our 33rd installation dinner on June 3rd at the Franklin Plaza when we will welcome Joann Sternheimer as our next president, swear in new officers and WBASNY delegates, and recognize this year’s award winners.

In addition to these many successful events, CDWBA began to implement the recommendations made by the long term planning committee commissioned with great wisdom by Michelle Haskin. With this committee, she and Joann have prioritized very helpful recommendations for CDWBA’s future. As a result, we have succeeded in beginning the leadership transition to our incoming president much earlier in the year. While working closely all year, Joann and I are well into planning for 2010-2011. Joann has already begun implementing her vision for the year to come, which promises to be both exciting and organized. Many membership and renewal activities historically undertaken in late summer or early fall were begun this spring. Consistent with the long term planning committee’s recommendation, our committees will be organized and working on activities before they have been ready to do so in the past.

Likewise, consistent with the committee’s recommendation, we have successfully sought sponsorships this year. Under the leadership of Cara Brousseau, CDWBA obtained many sponsorships for the judicial reception, the family friendly CLE, Sweet Success, and installation dinner. This initiative is a win-win for CDWBA and its sponsors. Among other things, the level of support we received from sponsors this year made it possible for CDWBA to again underwrite the $5 per member increase imposed on chapters by WBASNY and to make events like the judicial reception notably more affordable than in the past. Not to be overlooked is the critically important work of CDWBA’s public relations committee. The committee spearheaded several public announcements, including recognition of the winner of the Carol S. Knox Family Friendly Award, the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor, the ratings of the judicial screening committee, the work of the diversity and gender fairness committee, as well as the results of the workplace policies survey. Similarly, the newsletter committee again did an excellent job under often adverse circumstances.

Finally, I am delighted to recognize the administrative changes accomplished this year. Ava has made major improvements to the website, which we hope you benefit from in the coming years. You will find a new “members only” section, which is still a work in progress. Thanks to WBASNY, we expect that our directory will go digital shortly. And thanks to Karen Simons’s hard work, you will soon be able to sign up for and pay for CDWBA events by credit card through the website. Karen has implemented other changes that have also contributed to more efficient administrative operations. More improvements are forecast.

Thanks to all of you for your patience, warmth and very hard work. I will miss being able to introduce myself as the president of such an extraordinary group of women

Susan Taylor