November marks the anniversary of my becoming NAMME's Executive Director and, as is my custom with any sort of anniversary, I feel compelled to take stock of the year gone by--accomplishments, goals unmet and reflect on the year ahead to chart new horizons.
A look back over the past year provides much for NAMME to celebrate and be proud.
Internal Operations
- An attractive, sleek new logo
- A redesigned website with new features that better engage, inform and connect members
- Changed from a cash-based to accrual-based accounting system
- Completed NAMME's first independent financial audit.
- Added full-time administrative support for the office
Programs and Outreach
- Record attendance and support of the Annual Awards Banquet
- Awarded renewal grant for McCormick Tribune Fellowship Program
- Awarded an outreach grant for the McCormick Tribune Fellowship Program
- Created "Pulitzer Winners of Color" exhibit for Awards Banquet and Unity Conference
- Secured LDI sponsorships through 2005
- Stellar 2004 Annual Conference Program
- Introduced the new member benefit of DiversityInc e-zine and magazine.
An earnest assessment of the past year also requires a candid review of any shortfalls.
- NAMME enjoys strong penetration in the newspaper industry. However, NAMME's mission demands a much stronger presence in other media (i.e. magazines, television, radio, new media, etc.)
- NAMME's leadership and membership reflects a strong commitment to bring under one tent managers and executives of all races and ethnicities working in every facet of the media business. However, NAMME's mission mandates more aggressive efforts to add more Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans to our membership rolls.
- NAMME has made great strides to increase the quality and quantity of its programs to better serve its mission and members. Such efforts will and do require greater resources.
- As a membership organization, NAMME is challenged with finding ways to get more members involved on a consistent basis
As we look to the next year, there are many exciting new opportunities as well as challenges ahead. We hope to:
- Aggressively grow our membership in the television, radio, magazine and new media arenas while strengthening our core membership base in newspapers.
- Increase efforts to broaden our leadership and membership to reflect more fully the diversity of the communities we serve.
- Continue to make the website a central source for staying informed about the issues that shape the industry and affect you professionally and personally, engaged in the struggle to advance the diversity agenda in the media business, committed to reach back and give back to those aspiring to become connected with industry leaders and each other.
Add new programs and services that will:
- Advance and promote more people of color into the upper ranks and achieve more diversity in the executive suites of media organizations;
- Generate effective strategies and solutions to the critical multi-cultural issues confronting media organization's;
- Be a leading source for developing and finding multi-cultural managerial and executive talent, and
- Allow members to become better engaged and connected with each other.
NAMME must identify additional sources of funding to bring greater stability to its staffing and programming.
To achieve these goals we need your help and support more than ever.
We need your involvement and full participation to ensure that the direction we are heading is the one you want us to move toward. We need your financial support to ensure that NAMME has the resources to do the things we are doing and should do. We need you're your leadership to ensure that NAMME's mission and vision keeps pace with the needs of the industry and members.
Please join me in making NAMME a bigger, better and stronger resource for media managers and executives in 2005 and in the years to come ahead.
