Page 30 - The Scepter - Spring_Summer 2017 - Syn-Lod 2017 SPECIAL EDITION_Neat

Leadership Team Lady Betty Edwards, Workshop Coordinator
Area Directors Council Lady Brenda Dodd, Chairman
Lady Mary Davis, Co-Chairman
Chapter Presidents Council Lady Anita Luster, Chairman
Lady Karen Dilligard, Co-Chairman
National Executive Assistant Lady Karen Love
National Projects Leader Lady Elaine Singh
National Assistant to the Founder Lady Nicole Williams

The National President:

• congratulated the Building & Properties Team for hosting a superb Open House at the new headquar-
ters and thanked the ladies who came from far and wide

• thanked Lady Natasha Goode, IT Director, for outfitting headquarters with appropriate technology

gave a brief overview of Syn-Lod
• apologized for confusion with Club Express/Membership Database but reminded the membership

that if you do not send the names in with the money, we do not know who to credit the money to,
thus setting in motion a notice that your membership is inactive. They go hand-in-hand: money+name
• trademarks have been renewed for 10 years and our marks are now registered allowing TLOD an extra
measure of security and protection. Lady Natasha will be updating the marks and changing all of the
™ to ®, making them available on the website
• reminded members to preserve their history and take heed to Lady Mattie's workshop
• reminded members that we are still taking donations for Hurricane Harvey
• advised the membership that the family of Lady Anna Conner Kirksey, former Dean of the VCR TTA
Leadership Academy, will be presenting an award at the 2019 Syn-Lod to a deserving Teen who has
attended the TTA Leadership Academy to be called the Anna Conner Kirksey TTA Leadership Acade-
my Award. You can donate to the award in her memory by sending your check to the National Finan-
cial Secretary, Lady Sandra Jennings, and earmarking it for the Award
• ·outlined what is new: expanded focus on Clinical Trials, TLOD Wellness, NOBLE, Standards, as
well as all of our other initiatives
• reminded members that the TTA Leadership Academy is an HBCU Bus Tour to Steam Schools in
2018
• that Top Teens of America will turn 50 years old in 2019 and we will celebrate that milestone at Syn-
Lod 2019.

It was stressed that members need to be more fiscally responsible when registering for conference and
booking rooms. When planning a conference, TLOD has to guarantee a certain amount of room nights in
order to get the meeting space without costs. Members reserve multiple rooms and then cancel them at
the last minute. That adds unexpected, unnecessary, and undeserved costs to the event. If we know in
advance what our numbers are, we could renegotiate the contract, but not two days before the event. To

wit, going forward in this administration, members will pay one room night in advance and will be able to
reserve only two rooms per conference. No more 7, 8, 9, 10 rooms that you will cancel two days before
the conference. Ladies, please be careful with this. It is your money you are throwing away, because at
some point if this continues, dues will go up to compensate. Luckily, we had underwrites and donations to
help out, but that money could have been better spent. Financially, we are sound, but we would be in a
better place if members were more responsible. (The presentation is on the website.)

In Memoriam Tributes were paid to Lady Anna Conner Kirksey, Vivien Coe Richard TTA Leadership
Academy Dean, and Lady Vivien Coe Richard, Ninth National President of Top Ladies of Distinction,
Inc. Top Ladies has lost two grand ladies and we will truly miss them.