Message from the President

The first anniversary of the Akron Cigar Club will be upon us in May 2005. Perhaps now is a good time to evaluate our goals for the upcoming year and beyond.

1). Getting the “word out” and increasing membership remains a priority, and an effort to involve more of the membership with club activities is essential. A realistic goal would be to improve membership by 50% over the next year.

The appointment of forum administrators is a first step toward this goal and, hopefully, this will encourage more activity in that area. Make no mistake, the more activity within the forum the more significant our club will become to retailers and those persons of influence within the cigar industry. As president I will request that the Web site committee and forum administrators submit suggestions on ways to improve the functionality of the forum and website.

We have a diverse and talented membership. Putting these resources to use is a goal for the upcoming year. Contributions in the form of articles and data for the web site should be encouraged. The formation of a committee to develop the “cigar friendly” restaurant directory is one example of how to tap into the many talents of our membership. Such a tool would be another practical reason for visiting our website. As president I would like to see such a directory complete before the end of our second year.

On a similar note, improving attendance at club activities should always remain a priority. A strategy for the scheduling and locating events needs to begin. One that will encourage a good attendance from current members while spreading the geographic area of influence to include a 50 mile radius surrounding the city of Akron.   I will request that the Activities committee submit a strategy that would begin to meet this goal.

2). Improving the financial status of the ACC and setting realistic goals is essential to the growth of our organization. I would like to see the balance of the treasury double by the end of our second year.

As president I will instruct the Treasurer to set up a Finance committee and submit a strategic plan for improving the Treasury for both the short term and long term. As our balance improves we will have more options available to us for serving the membership.

3). The ACC is obligated to educate our members and the general public about the unique and complex process that goes into a quality handmade cigar. As president I would try and arrange more “guest speakers” from the cigar industry to address our members. It is my hope that one guest speaker every 4 months over the next year can be arranged. In addition it is our hope that the representatives of the ACC can attend at least one National event as it relates to the cigar industry.

4). Keeping the membership informed about legislation that will affect our organization remains a priority and strategies to address these issues needs to be developed. As president I will ask members to volunteer to form a Political Action Committee and present recommendations for our plan of attack.

5). The ACC by-laws requires the appointment of a by-laws committee in June of 2005. This committee will put forth recommendations to changes concerning our by-law. All recommended changes to the by-laws will then be voted on by the gold key members for approval. This process is essential to strengthening our foundation.

I believe these goals are all attainable and I will do my best as president to achieve them. Our young organization has achieved a great deal in just 9 months since our first meeting. We have a great deal for which we can be proud. “Herf On”

Copyright © 2004 Akron Cigar Club. All rights reserved.
Revised: 05/20/05.