Greetings!  I am very grateful for this opportunity to serve and for your continued support of this association.  We are in a growth phase as we determine the course of best service to our members.  YOUR INPUT IS NEEDED.  Your executive committee has discussed the creation of an education department.  What would you like to see taught and what format would be most desirable to you?

            I hope you all plan to attend the convention in February.  I selected Laughlin, Nevada because it offers great opportunities for both indoor and outdoor entertainment and does so at an extremely reasonable cost.  We will also have several excellent learning and networking sessions available.  Some members have complained in the past that our convention is very expensive to attend.  I hope to see those members in attendance at this convention.  My goal is to grow this association and to make it responsive and responsible to its members – COLLECTION AGENCIES.

            As we have had several inquiries from prospective members outside the Western US (indeed we now have several members outside those boundaries), we decided at our annual meeting 2 years ago to change the name of the association from Western Collectors to The Professional Debt Collectors Association.  If we want to include all agencies for potential membership, regardless of where they are located within the US, I hate to see our very name exclude them.  Therefore, we will once again be publishing the potential name change to The Professional Debt Collectors Association and it will again be brought to a vote at the annual convention.

            I am excited at our potential as the only national trade association of, by, and exclusively for collection agencies. I look forward to hearing from you with your ideas and seeing all of you in Laughlin in February.

Dan

*OFFICERS*

Dan Russell

President

PO Box 4000

Rawlins, WY

(714) 979-3927

Jo anne Lindquist

Vice President

Box 1076

Delta, Co

(970) 874-4595

Cliff Carlson

Treasurer

Box 1756

Walla Walla, Wa

(509) 525-9550

Maryellen Fitchner

Secretary

629 L St #201

Anchorage, Ak

(907) 279-5011

Jack Wolf

Past President

2241 152nd Ave NE

Redmond, Wa

(425) 644-1313