MPIGNY Through the Years

Kathie Stapleton
MPIGNY Executive Director
Another Year, Another Boss

Even then they knew!  When MPIGNY was only 5 or 6 years old, Mary Hammond and her administration felt we would soon grow too large to rely totally on volunteers to conduct the business of the chapter effectively.  It was Terry Spinelli, along with George Ramirez and Jim Bitros, (all of whom I had worked with in HSMAI’s Big Apple Chapter) who put my name forward when the decision was made to engage a part time assistant. Audrey Bird was my first “boss” and, initially, I just took meeting reservations, prepared name badges and handled on site registration. 

It strikes me as amazing to remember that each badge had to be typed on a “bulletin” typewriter and registration lists, broken down by “Member Planner Paid”…”Member Planner Unpaid” …etc. etc., were prepared manually by sorting through the registration forms a thousand times!  Don’t get me wrong … computers had been invented (I’m not that old!).  It’s just that most of us weren’t high-tech enough to realize what an enormous savings in labor the investment would have been!  Fortunately, it was only a year or so before we moved into the 20th century and I bought my first computer.  With all the extra time (???), I was able to accept an expanded role, which allowed for my greater involvement in many areas of association management for our chapter.

Over the years, we certainly have grown by leaps and bounds...not just in membership, but also in a varierty and number of educational opportunities that we offer to them.  It has been my pleasure to have served MPIGNY, including my many Presidents as well as our nearly one thousand members.  I've been privileged to work with some extremely dedicated professionals, and more importantly, have made a number of great friends along the way!  Every administration had its own "specialness" and I have wonderful memories of each one.  As we move further into the 21st Century, who knows?  Maybe there's another great new time saving invention on its way that will let me take on even more!  On second thought...

A Look Through Our Past President's Eyes [more Past President's Listings Coming Soon]

Fiscal Year	President	Legacy	Biography
1977-1978	Ralph Wynn	Co-Founder of MPIGNY
1978-1979	Stuart T. Clarkson	Co-Founder of MPIGNY
1979-1980	George Calfo	MPIGNY On the Move
1980-1981	Bob Rosenbaum	MPI Education Begins