^{My Fellow Sertomans:}

^{First, please let me thank you for bestowing the club presidency on me for 2008-2009. I look forward to working with each and every one of you in the coming year.}

^{Before outlining my goals for the year, please join me in applause for the hard work and dedication demonstrated by Whitney as President, Bill as Board Chair and the entire 2007-2008 Board of Directors.}

^{I also want to thank in advance those who have agreed to serve in leadership roles, as well as those serving as committee members for the coming year. I believe you’ll find the entire 2008-2009 cabinet to be as committed to our club as any you’ve ever seen. You will hear the upcoming plans of those new board members and committee chairs who are here later this evening. In the meantime, let me tell you who your new board members and committee chairs are:}

^{Board Chair:  Whitney Woolfolk}

^{President:  Steven Langer}

^{President-Elect:  Eric Martin}

^{Vice President - Sponsorships:  Cory Manning}

^{Vice President - Memberships:  Pat Mason}

^{Secretary:  Jason Richardson}

^{Treasurer:  Alan Grimsley}

^{Member-at-Large:  Mike Long}

^{Member-at-Large:  Jack Sterne}

^{Sergeant-at-Arms:  Steve Etheredge}

^{Mardi Gras Auction – 2009 Chair: Ann Pauley}

^{Sportsarama – 2008 Co-Chairs: Steve Etheredge and Jack Sterne}

^{Club Awards and Member Recognition Chair: Leighton McLendon}

^{Golf Tournament Co-Chairs: Jeff Hanson and Fred Lamphere}

^{Publicity Chair: Valerie Russell}

^{Club’s 50th Anniversary – 2009 Chair: Whitney Woolfolk}

^{Sponsorship Chair: Cory Manning}

^{Service to Mankind Chair: To Be Determined}

^{Sertoman of the Year Chair: Steve Etheredge}

^{Freedom and Democracy Essay Contest Chair: Marshall Taylor}

^{Camp Sertoma Chair: Eric Martin}

^{Membership Chair: Patrick Mason}

^{Columbia College Club Chair: Debbie Sowell}

^{Safe Ears Chair: To Be Determined}

^{Website and Club E-Bulletin Chair: Jason Richardson}

^{50th Sportsarama Anniversary – 2010 Chair: Pat Blackwell}

^{As with any organization, new members are essential to continued growth and success – and to that end I propose that in the coming year, together we increase our club’s membership by at least 12 – that’s only one new member minimum each month!}

^{One of the first things you’ll see this year is the creation of a publicity committee to promote in print and where possible and appropriate, television, our club’s activities and events including:}

^Sportsarama

^{Golf Tournament}

^{Mardi Gras Auction and Party}

^{Club’s 50th Anniversary – April 2009}

^{Club Awards and Member Recognition}

^Sponsorship

^{Service to Mankind}

^{Sertoman of the Year}

^{Freedom and Democracy Essay Contest}

^{Camp Sertoma}

^{Columbia College Club}

^{Safe Ears}

^{50th Sportsarama Anniversary – August 2010}

^{Publicity about these events will also be sent to Sertoma International for possible inclusion in The Sertoman magazine.}

^{I believe that this enhanced club publicity will increase community awareness about our wonderful organization, which will, in turn, make both our fundraising and new member recruitment efforts more productive.}

^{Your work for Sertoma is always appreciated. Others however need to be know more about our projects and events, however and through the efforts of the publicity committee, you’ll also receive the public recognition you so richly deserve.}

^{While it may take more than one year to fully implement, this year I want to begin the establishment of a mentor-mentee program for our newer members to learn from our more senior members the "how to do" the Sportsarama, the Golf Tournament and the Mardi Gras. We have a huge amount of institutional knowledge in our club and we must not loose this valuable information! With a back-up written standard operations procedure to assist in the future planning of these events, we will be safe.}

^{Hearing and speech has always been what Sertoma is about and yet unfortunately very little has been done in this area on the club level in the last few years. To remedy that, I have met with Chris Burnette, the President of the Columbia Club and gained his commitment to jointly put together with our club a Safe Ears program in the community at some to be determined date.}

^{Let us commit now that next summer we will at least equal number of campers to Camp Sertoma that we sent this year, if not more.}

^{Next spring our club will be 50 years young. In light of this very special time in our history, please remember 5 for 50. As I continue with this talk, I’m confident you’ll see what I mean by that…}

^{The next regional convention is April 16 through April 19, 2009, and will be held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, only 170 miles from Columbia. Please mark your 2009 calendar now and make plans to attend. We need to send a minimum of five members from our club!}

^{Thanks to the extremely generous contribution of our club member and President of Columbia Printing and Graphics, Scott DeRidder, every member should make an extra push to sell ads for the Sportsarama souvenir program with a personal goal of selling at least five ads.}

^{Likewise, each member should make it their personal goal to invite and get a minimum of five teams or golfers for the Golf Tournament, along with a personal goal of getting a minimum of five items for the goodie bags of each golfer who attends the event.}

^{For the Mardi Gras Auction and Party, each member should make it their personal goal to invite and sell tickets to a minimum of five couples and obtain a minimum of five items for the live auction and five items for the silent auction.}

 ^{For each of our signature events – Sportsarama, the Golf Tournament and the Mardi Gras Auction and Party, please remember 5 for 50. While five is great, even more is better! Through our achieving each of these goals together, we will continue to build on the successes of our past while continuing to move ahead in the future.}

^{In conclusion, please remember the words of Mohammed Ali regarding service when he said "service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth."}

^{Thank you again giving me the opportunity to serve as your president; I consider it to be both a privilege and an honor. Please feel free to give me a call whenever I can be of assistance to you.}

^{With warm regards,}

^{Steven Langer}