Dear Fellow Cincinnatus Members:


Welcome to a new season of Cincinnatus membership.  The leaders of our panels and committees have been working throughout the summer to prepare for a year of notable accomplishments.  In the past two years, we have reconfigured our organization by expanding the service roll with many members who have proven their dedication to our organization through the years.  In turn, we have brought a large number of new members into Cincinnatus.  Our core panels of Education, Arts and Culture, Inclusion, and Government have become increasingly active.  In addition, we have added or strengthened support committees, such as Membership, Finance, Marketing, Programs, and The Cincinnatus Foundation.  We also brought Administrator Roger Smith on-board to coordinate the various administrative functions, including creation of a new website that provides an excellent platform for communications.  So, where do we go from here?


We are facing a major challenge, and I am asking each of you as individuals to help Cincinnatus meet it.  The challenge is one of personal engagement.  Our organization has a noble mission, but it can only be fully accomplished if every member of the Cincinnatus Association makes a personal contribution of time, talent, and passion to our common work.   As I’ve pointed out, there are numerous panels, committees, and initiatives in which a member can participate.  There are many members who regularly attend our monthly meetings, work on panel initiatives, and demonstrate to a high degree their commitment to accomplishing our mission.  Unfortunately, there are also many members who do very little. We all joined Cincinnatus because we wanted to be part of an organization that makes a difference in the Greater Cincinnati community.  The ability to make that difference is diminished when we don’t all pull together.  Therefore, an important goal of this year’s activity will be to make sure that every member of our organization knows of the opportunities for engagement, is inspired to take advantage of them, or takes the initiative to create new opportunities, if they choose.  I ask each of you, as important members of the Cincinnatus Association, to personally help accomplish this goal.  We must all reach out to one another if we are to have our greatest impact.


I am honored to be serving as your president, and am looking forward to working with each of you in accomplishing great things during the coming year.

 


Bill Scheyer

President, 2008-2009