Dear Members,
I always find this to be a strange time of year. We're past the newness of the new year. March madness is a few weeks away. I've been both cold and indoors far too much.
I joined FAR nearly eight years ago. In retrospect, it was an act of desperation. I was new to nonprofits, new to DC, and I knew that I had to get my bearings by connecting with the right people. I may have been the rare individual who found FAR without a personal invitation, maybe because I worked a block from the Suntrust building.
Over a century ago, François-René de Chateaubriand wrote:
"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both."
Sound like a baseball player who just inked a long term deal?
Well, for me, there's something about this quote that captures the essence of the FAR community. I've always felt that a FAR event takes the work out of networking and makes education invigorating. Our members are high achieving professionals who pursue their unique vision of excellence. Personally, I'm striving to blur the distinction between labor and leisure.
Our upcoming programs continue to build on the high quality to which you're accustomed. Please introduce others like yourself to FAR so that we grow our membership carefully and steadily.
I'm honored to serve as your Chair and I thank you for your support.
David Diedrich
Chair
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March Luncheon
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"Current and Future State of Healthcare Reform and Exchanges in a Post PPACA World"
Speakers:
 
Joel Wood Scott Sinder
Description:
The roll-out of the new health care law has widespread effects on insurance everywhere, presenting us with questions on what we can expect and challenges to remaining competitive in our benefits packages. Joel Wood, SVP of Government Relations for the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, and Scott Sinder, Partner at Steptoe & Johnson will help us understand the current status of health care reform and discuss the potential future impact of exchanges and tax penalties on our organizations.
Learning Objectives:
* Historical review of how we got to where we are today
* A practical understanding of how the establishment of exchanges and tax penalties in 2014 will affect employers
* The potential impact of the exchanges as they come online for small business employers
* Consideration of what the future state of health insurance looks like, e.g. the consolidation of medical practices, methodology used by insurance companies to determining premiums, and ways employers will determine their contributions
When and Where:
Wednesday, March 19, 2014, 11:15 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
SunTrust Building, 1445 New York Avenue, NW 9th Floor Washington, DC 20005
Note: The parking garage next door to the building is closed for the next few months.
This program will be reviewed for CPE credit and will be evaluated for Continuing Education credit.
FAR is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN 34219-2417. Web-site: www.nasba.org.
For more information regarding refund, complaint, and program cancellation policies, please contact the FAR office at: 1325 G Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005 or email (hq@far-roundtable.org). There are no refunds or cancellations accepted after March 14, 2014. Field of Study: Personnel/HR Program level is basic - update. There are no pre-requisites nor advanced preparation. It is Group-Live delivery method. Sponsor ID: 109395
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March Nonprofit Breakfasts
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 How do you like your coffee, with sugar or cream?
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February Luncheon Recap
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Our February Luncheon was almost standing room only as members and guests gathered to enjoy good food and a good program!
Our presentation, "How to Align IT with Your Organization's Needs", featured discussion on organizations treating technology as a resource to their constituents as well as support their internal business operations. Dave Coriale, of DelCor Technology Solutions introduced us to the concept of the maturity model and then moderated a panel discussion demonstrating how the model applies to member organizations. The program concluded with questions and answers from the audience. A copy of the presentation may found on the FAR website.
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FAR Holiday Charitable Giving
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FAR selected McClendon Center as the recipient of holiday giving at the FAR December Luncheon.
At the start of the New Year, FAR received an email from Mike Shumann, Director of Development, thanking FAR members for their generosity. Thank you all who brought items and monetary donations to the luncheons!
I just wanted to thank you again for allowing me to speak at the FAR Holiday luncheon on behalf of McClendon Center. More importantly, FAR members donated generously. In addition to the five checks I unexpectedly received on the spot, FAR members donated:
17 pairs of warm socks
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9 pairs of gloves
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7 scarves
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4 warm winter hats
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59 bottles of shampoo
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30 bars of bottles of soap
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47 bottles of lotion
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26 deodorants
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33 tubes of toothpaste
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38 toothbrushes
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16 razors
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While all of these items help our clients have a better quality of life, I think we also agree that the weather of the past week made the clothing donations particularly important. Please convey our gratitude to the FAR membership, knowing that the donations had a real impact on real people.
Best wishes for success in the new year,
Mike
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The Hidden Benefits of FAR Membership
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A Winning Match Made at FAR
(submitted by Derek Symer, AHT Insurance)
We all know and love FAR for its top-notch monthly networking. But it's especially nice when relationships formed at FAR extend to the outside world. This happened recently when two long-time FAR members James May (CFO, Retired, Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors National Association) and Derek Symer of (Principal, AHT Insurance) found themselves teamed-up to play in a Montgomery County Tennis Association men's doubles match in Germantown, MD.
Back in 2012, Derek suffered a severe knee injury that led to surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation process. Because he hurt his knee playing tennis, he was reluctant to get back out onto the court at first. It turns out that not everyone returns to their chosen sport in 6 months like RGIII! But with frequent prodding from his wife, Derek resumed playing USTA league tennis this winter. (Click here to read more!)
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FAR MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY
Member Help Required
As FAR starts preparations for the 2014 annual printed directory, FAR members need to log in to their membership profile and check all of their contact information. Please update profiles by March 28, 2014. After that time, the membership records will be exported and used for the publication. Please do not send the changes to FAR Admin, each member is responsible for making the updates to their profile.
Members who receive an ad in the directory as part of their membership benefits will be contacted with information this month.
Thank you for your assistance and please contact FAR Admin if you have any questions at hq@far-roundtable.org or 703.971.1116.
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Volunteers Welcome!
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FAR is always thankful for the talent and energy its members bring to the FAR community. If you have the time, and would like to be more engaged with FAR, please consider volunteering on one of our committees.
To learn more about opportunities, please click here.
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Thank you to our Gold Members
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