Dear Friends and Supporters,

 

Happy New Year! I hope that you and your families enjoyed festive and relaxing holidays.

 

As World Affairs Councils gear up for a return to robust programming in 2015, with a readiness to learn on the part of all stakeholders, please allow me the opportunity to thank an individual from whom I have learned a great deal during my years in the network.

 

Dr. Ward Fredericks recently notified the WACA National Board that he would retire effective January 1. In reaching his 75th birthday and in his eighth year on the Board, he cited a personal guide - "Leave the organization in better condition than it was when you joined it" - as reason for making way "for a new generation of leadership to carry on."

 

In recent years, as a conscientious, effective Board Treasurer, Ward defined nonprofit stewardship like no other. He helped to steady operations through presidential turnover, re-establish financial reporting integrity, advocate for a strong DC-based National Office, and support our strategy as a national educational organization. A gracious host, he made possible the WACA Board's 2014 summer meeting at Sunnylands, a veritable Camp David of the West (site of an Obama-Xi summit), in southern California.

 

And I'm sure he is rightly proud of the Academic WorldQuesters who will represent the World Affairs Council of the Desert (see our News section below) at WACA's national AWQ Competition on April 25.

 

The World Affairs Councils of America starts 2015 in very good condition, indeed. Ward's leadership, sense of responsibility, and dedication to our mission helped to get us here, and provide a powerful guide for the road ahead.

 

Though we will miss him on the Board, I hope that Ward will continue to impart wisdom in our conference call offerings - be they 1918 Society, Cover to Cover, Hot Topics or Best Practices. Many are listed below and on the WACA site; be sure to sign up!

 

Here's to a new year of opportunities!

Bill Clifford

President and CEO

Vicente Fox served as President of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. The first candidate from an opposition party to be elected president since 1920, he garnered 42 percent of the vote, marking the first time that the then-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party had lost a presidential election. Under his leadership, the country experienced a stretch of fundamental economic strength and stability. Full Bio

Save the date: The 1918 Society will convene a conference call on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 2:00 PM with Scott Carpenter, Deputy Director of Google Ideas.

Become a member: For information on how to join The 1918 Society and benefits of membership, including participation in these conference calls, please contact Ian Byrne at [email protected] or visit our website.

Do you serve on a board that knows it needs to fire its chief executive? Do you lie awake at night wondering how to deal with that troublesome board member who has too much time on his hands and spends it micromanaging you and others? Elephants in the Nonprofit Board Room will touch on the more common challenges faced by boards of all shapes and sizes. Whether you're a board member or a chief executive, you will leave this workshop with:

• solutions to common boardroom challenges
• practical strategies and ideas you can put to use immediately
• comfort that you are NOT alone

Featured speaker: Stacey Wedding is the founder and chief strategist of Professionals in Philanthropy, a philanthropic consulting firm that assists generous individuals and organizations in creating lasting change in their communities, our country, and the world.