Rocky Mountain Division

of the

International Association for Identification

WELCOME from the PRESIDENT

I am truly honored to serve as your president for the year 2010. It is a privilege to be part of an organization that has been a valuable part of my training and I look forward to giving back. Like those before me, I too appreciate all the hard work and time given by our previous officers and board members; their contributions to our organization have made us what we are today.

I would like to acknowledge one special member who has been, in my opinion, our backbone over the past several years - our executive secretary, Angie Fisher, who has decided to accept new challenges and take her career in a different direction. Angie's efficiency, tireless dedication, and (I am certain) memorization of our Constitution and Policies will be missed. Not only did Angie serve as executive secretary but she was also our editor and managed to balance two RMDIAI positions along with her job at Westminster PD. Angie, you will be missed terribly. Thank you for your dedication to our organization.

Training is always at the top of the agenda for every incoming president and I am no exception. I would like to continue our efforts to provide quality training that can enhance an individual in his or her career. One idea that has been presented is to offer training that would assist the latent print examiner in obtaining certification, or at least coming one step closer. We have been offering training in many other areas and now, perhaps, it is time to direct our efforts on areas of certification.

I would like to also take this opportunity to encourage members to present short articles in our Silent Witness or our website. Sharing information is what makes us all better at what we do and could possibly help someone else in their job and I want to continue building our membership. Finally, the annual dues notices have recently been sent out and you may have noticed a small change in the membership dues. For more than a decade or perhaps two our annual dues has been $20, however, due to rising cost of hosting conferences, paying speaker fees and just everyday business expenses we have found it necessary to keep up with these rising costs. During the General Business meeting held during the 2009 Fall Conference the $10 increase was voted on and approved.