Dear PSBTA Members,

First and foremost I want to thank Bob Jacobsen (2008-2009) and his board for the vision they have had over the past several years. Bob and his team showed us that PSBTA could withstand what the economy would dish out during 2009. And what a year 2009 was. Too often we heard of a colleague losing their job. I read that for many people, 2009 started out as the Year of Hope but later many of us were hoping it would just end.

I am honored, humbled and of course excited to be your next PSBTA President. Many of you have already responded enthusiastically to participate as committee chairs and committee members. And I have received many optimistic responses from others who want to be more active PSBTA members. As we start off this New Year of 2010 we are already seeing signs of new hope within our industry. Corporate Travel Managers are seeing an uptick in travel (YEAH). We will continue to see (based on information supplied to us from NBTA), that corporate travel programs are out to drive good values with their suppliers. This means Allieds and Directs need to work closely together in understanding each other’s needs. This is where PSBTA becomes extremely valuable to each of us.

Based on discussions and feedback with many of you this past year, the new leadership team has responded by adding three new committees: Education, Growing Green, and Government. The good news for our membership is we will focus our next two years on growing together. We will have strong speakers and good quality education programs that will benefit each of us – possibly a CCTE certification training class or pairing up with another BTA. We will continue to be as “green” as possible – for example, the Leadership Retreat will be essentially paperless, with no agenda handouts. The new Government committee will review and provide information to us monthly on local, state and national government involvement in the travel industry.

This is your organization - I'm here to guide and row the boat. PSBTA needs each one of us to be involved in order to bring us out of this, dare I say "recession". Over the years I've seen industry veterans grow stronger within our Organization and it’s their involvement in NBTA and PSBTA that helps them be the professional industry specialists they are. Now is your time - don’t sit on the sideline. We are professionals dedicated and committed to our industry. We made it through one of the worst years in history. Now let’s work together and continue to show we are a caring, giving, and strong professional community.

There are three essentials to leadership: humility, clarity and courage.-“Japanese zen quote”

I hope that I will be able to display leadership to its fullness.

Warmly,

Jane