Greetings from the 2010/2011 WCA President Welcome to the 2010-2011 year Workers' Compensation Association. First off, I would personally like to thank each of you for your participation in the association and for allowing me and the rest of the Board of Directors to serve you this year. We hope that the trust you placed in us will be rewarded with positive results and confidence that we are correctly focusing on the goals, objectives, and the business of the Association. The first order of business was to secure a contract for the annual conference for the 2010 - 2011 Association years. In order to obtain some security and favorable pricing for the Association, we requested proposals from both Sandia Resort and Casino as well as Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (formerly Isleta Hotel & Casino). The Board of Directors reviewed both responses as well as performed a site visit to Hard Rock since it has been newly sold and remodeled. We then elicited the opinions of the vendors, sponsors and you, the membership, regarding the choice of venues. While the voting was split almost 50/50, the Board of Directors discussed the pros and cons of each venue and then voted unanimously in favor of The Hard Rock Casino & Hotel, due primarily to the cost savings the Association would realize. The contract period is for one year with two possible contract renewal terms, giving the Association an "out" clause, if for any reason we should decide we're unhappy with any aspect of the venue or services.. This was not a decision your Board of Directors made lightly. Our decision was even harder due to the exceptional level of service and responsiveness we received from the staff at Sandia this past year. The decision quite simply came down to the financial impact and cost of services. The proposal from the Hard Rock was the most advantageous for the Association and its membership. The Association's main function is to create and fund scholarships for the children of disabled and deceased workers in New Mexico through the Toby Wright Memorial Scholarship. The ability to continue to grow the scholarship fund while keeping the cost for conference attendance relatively static is very important and was eventually the deciding factor. The financial impact fell in favor of the Hard Rock, and is approximately $25,000 per year less to host the annual seminar. Over a three year contract period, this would fund the scholarship for at least 2 students for three years of education. The entire Board of Directors feels strongly that our first responsibility is to protect and grow the financial resources of the Association. Given the current state of the economy, it would have been irresponsible of us to have selected Sandia Resort & Casino. Our choice would have been to not grow the fund, or to have passed those additional costs on to our membership. I thank you for your support of the Association for the past many years and understand and support the decisions that we are making going forward. In this, our 30th anniversary, let us continue to focus on the business of the Associaiton and working together to fund the scholarships of children of injured and deceased workers in this state. For many, we may be the only hope they have to change their lives for the better, forever. Thank you again for your input as well as your support. I am looking forward to seeing all of you in September for our first breakfast. Should you have any questions regarding the RFP process, results or decisions, please do not hesitate to contact me or any member of the Association Board. Sincerely, Gary F. Beck Association President |
