Directors of the Auxiliary Association, Inc., a civilian organization that closely mirrors the structure of the CG Auxiliary, met on Sunday, January 30, as part of the N-Train agenda. It is important to note that all members of the Auxiliary are automatically members of the Association. Presentations made to the Association, Inc. Board should be of interest to all members because of that automatic membership, it is your Association. The governing board of the Association are the District Commodores and elected members of the NEXCOM in a structure similar to that of the Auxiliary.

Mr. Feldman and Mr. Ryterman presented their financial reports. The President of the Association, Mr. Seibert, commented that there is an effort to meet projected shortfalls in income. There have been extensive “belt-tightening” moves. Some meetings, involving elected officers at the National level, have been cancelled and all expenses will be evaluated for their value to the mission.

A new Director of Development, Mr. Chester Lowe, was announced. He has plans to move out immediately with innovative moves to raise income through donations. To that end, he enlisted the aid of the Directors to identify potential sources.

A new Director for the Associate Membership program, Ms. Diane Williams, was named. The Association Membership program presents an opportunity to flotillas to earn forty percent of dues for each new Association Member recruited. “I intend to make everyone aware of our ‘best-kept secret,’” she said.

Mr. Marty Phillips reported on many exciting options for all members at the meeting. Discounts on a wide range of boating-related items are available from “iboats.com” using the link to the electronic mall on the National Member web page (www.cgaux.org). These discounts are open only to Auxiliarists/Association Members.

Mr. Phillips also announced that pre-sales of the “Complete History of the Coast Guard Auxiliary” will shortly be going to press. The book is a comprehensive history of the Auxiliary from 1939 to the present with many never before seen photos. This library quality, full color book should be a must have for all Auxiliary members. This may be your last chance to reserve this book at its pre-production price. For further information or to reserve your copy, visit http://www.uscgaux.org/~auxcen/auxcen/index.html or call 1-800-788-3350.

For those interested in discount airline fares, a new service, Portal2theWorld http://www.uscgaux.org/~auxcen/auxcen/index.html has been introduced to the web site as well. This provides an opportunity to save money on fares, hotels, cruises and a one-stop place to compare schedules and fares. These discounts are open only to Auxiliarists and their families; join the range of choices already there.

Mr. Richard Clinchy spoke of the new initiatives coming out of the Department of Education. He provided a progress report on the sales of educational materials, the status of which is very good. He discussed new public education opportunities that are currently “in the works.” These new products, for use by flotillas, will make us more competitive in the education marketplace.

Mrs. Carol Urgola presented a review of a publication that was of interest to the membership and was enthusiastically received.

In general feeling at this meeting was that the Association, Inc. is moving out briskly to increase the added value of membership to all Auxiliarists.