Welcome to ASWA's Philadelphia Chapter Web Site!

President's Message
  Dear Members and Friends of the Philadelphia Chapter:

As I write this, I am anxiously awaiting our departure! My husband, aka “Captain Mike”, is taking advantage of the short window of opportunity with the tides and weather on this fine Sunday morning, to move the vessel Seagem from dry dock to its home at Seaview Harbor Marina. Of course, there is a small snaggle that he is trying to resolve, and we should be underway very soon. As our executive team and some of our members are aware the “Seagem” is my home away from home and the marina is where I like to share with my ASWA family a relaxing place to conduct our Annual Planning Meeting. If you haven’t made vacation plans yet, keep July 26th open to join me and our board members as we coast through our notes and establish the framework for the coming year! We also enjoy a day together at the shore. The meeting is open to all members who would like to participate.

I came out of this tax season’s hibernation first to do a quick presentation at St. Joseph’s University for their organization, The Women’s Business Leaders of the Future, for which my mentee - Cassie Hunnicutt is President. Then, I attended the eWomen’s Network monthly meeting at the Union League, which gave me the opportunity to meet and listen to the “Queen” of business networking, Sandra Yancey who is the founder and CEO of this nationwide network organization for businesswomen. I was so inspired by her presence that I am proud to say that I am now a member of the South Jersey Chapter. With other local chapters in Philadelphia, King of Prussia and Bucks County, my intention as a member will be to gain greater exposure for our Philadelphia Chapter of ASWA through this network of women in the Delaware Valley.


Next, was our April Meeting with Marilyn Vito as our speaker at Ponzio’s. It was well attended by members and students who also brought guests to learn about delegation skills. Marilyn shared her vast knowledge and examples of these skills demonstrated in her own personal experiences. Our mentees, Camden County College students and guests were captivated by Marilyn’s talents and enjoyed the excellent interactive session that followed.


Next, was our April Meeting with Marilyn Vito as our speaker at Ponzio’s. It was well attended by members and students who also brought guests to learn about delegation skills. Marilyn shared her vast knowledge and examples of these skills demonstrated in her own personal experiences. Our mentees, Camden County College students and guests were captivated by Marilyn’s talents and enjoyed the excellent interactive session that followed.

The last event, I attended with our National Regional Director, Mary Duff, who is Treasurer for the Center of Advancement for Cancer Education. Again, I was very impressed with the founder, Susan Silberstein, PhD, who was celebrating at this Gala, the 30th anniversary of this organization. Through her dedication to the cause she had maintained a network, which includes many high profile women to participate in supporting the cause. It was an enriching experience to meet these women.

At each event, I set out to make our mark and be a visible presence to those who are not aware that we have an accounting organization dedicated to advancing women in our profession. I was very happy to attend these events with other members of our Chapter who are interested in expanding our reach and sharing the many benefits ASWA has to offer our members. Our mentees have been participating as well and I am very proud of their achievements. We have gained 16 new members year to date. I encourage all of our members to continue to build the momentum. If you haven’t been participating or making the meetings lately come see what you have been missing.

Very truly yours,

Lori Lucente-McKeage
Philadelphia Chapter President



Member News
  Chapter Leadership Update
     We are pleased to announce that the office of the Treasurer for the Philadelphia Chapter of ASWA will be filled by Cynthia J. Makarczyk for 2008-2009. The following Committees are seeking new Chairs: Bulletin, Scholarship, Meetings, Program, Yearbook.
     Please consult the current chairwomen listed in the sidebar on page 2 to understand the time commitment and responsibilities to fulfill the chair. Interested Regular Members should then contact Lori McKeage or Kathleen Brunner as soon as possible. If there is a Student Member interested in taking a leadership position in one of these areas also contact one of us ASAP so that we can complete the Slate prior to the June 17th meeting which will include the Annual Installation of Officers and Directors.
     If there are any other pending vacancies that we are not currently reporting, please contact Lori McKeage or Kathleen Brunner at your earliest convenience. We want to reach out to those who have been regular members and have not yet found their niche in the organization. Maybe you have held a position and are ready to take on something new. With continued coverage of all of the offices and committees, the individual participation is so much more rewarding. We need your participation. Please take advantage of the opportunity and join our Executive Team.

More on the Mentor Program

     We are still tallying up the points reported for each of the team members for the Month of April in our Mentor Contest. Therefore, no results are available to report at this time. Some members are really finding more and more opportunities to gain points by participating in ASWA Sponsored events as well as non-ASWA events attended by other members.
     For example, we are please to announce that Lisa Doria and Katie Williams, our mentees from Chestnut Hill College, participated in the Phi Beta Lambda State Competition held in Harrisburg last month. They competed in various events. For the Business Ethics category, the teams were required to research a scholarly journal article relating to ethics in Finance. Given 10 minutes to present their findings to a panel of judges, our members were able to take first place in this competition. Congratulations to Lisa and Katie who along with another team member, are now invited to the Phi Beta Lambda National Competition in Atlanta to compete in June. We wish them the best of luck!
     Katie Williams also reported that she and other members and mentees, including our newest member Katrina Smith and Sunny Chantavong, attended the PICPA “Backpack to Briefcase Event”.

NEW MEMBERS SPOTLIGHT
     Katrina Smith…………is currently a sophomore at West Chester University studying accounting. She is very interested in getting involved in the mentoring program. Katrina explained, “What attracted me to ASWA was listening to Renee Cooper speak to the West Chester University Accounting Society a few weeks ago.” In addition to being involved in the Accounting Society, Katrina participates in Circle K, the Women’s Water Polo Club (she is their current treasurer), and WCU’s petitioning Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi. She is also a student affiliate of PICPA and AICPA.
     Her long term goals are to attain the CPA certification as soon as possible out of college, and begin working in a “Big Four” or regional accounting firm. She has been working diligently on finding an internship for this summer. She is looking forward to attending as many ASWA events as possible—for networking tips, career resources, etc.
     Please join me in welcoming our newest member and share your experiences with her when you meet Katrina at a future meeting!

2007-2008 Membership Campaign: The Drive to Dallas! The Final Destination Approaches!
     We want to keep the momentum going as we are so close to reaching our year end goal of 650 new members! As an added chapter incentive, we offer a Year End Challenge: The chapter with the highest Net
Growth % between April 1st and June 15th will win a free JNC registration for the chapter!
With 47 free JNC registrations already won, there is no time like the present, to join the ASWA Year End Challenge for The Drive to Dallas! Take advantage of the low membership prices and “Fill Up” the ASWA New Member tank! It’s a race to the finish line so put the “pedal to the metal!” Help ASWA keep the New Member tank full!

Other Item of Interest
     In light of our partnering with attorney’s for our May Meeting, a new friend of ASWA, May Nash who attended our April meeting, has donated $25.00 to our ASWA scholarship fund. We thank her for her support. In addition, May has asked those interested, to support The Gloucester County Bar Foundation which is holding a Raffle. May and her brother William A. Nash, Esq. of The Nash Law Firm in Blackwood, NJ, plan to attend our May ASWA meeting and will have these tickets available to purchase. Here are the specs for those who love to take chances for a good cause:

A donation of $20.00 will support:
GLOUCESTER COUNTY BAR FOUNDATION, 26 NEWTON AVE, WOODBURY, NJ 08096
Prizes are as follows: ALL CASH PRIZES are BASED ON THE SALE OF 1500 TKTS

10 PRIZES include: 1 PRIZE- 20% OF TKT SALES ($6,000 MAX)
1 PRIZE- 10% OF TKT SALES
2 PRIZES- 5% OF TKT SALES,
4 PRIZES- 2% OF TKT SALES
2 PRIZES- 1% OF TKT SALES

DRAWING:
FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2008, AT 8:30 PM at WOODBURY COUNTRY CLUB- WOODBURY, NJ 08096
NO SUBSTITUTION OF THE OFFERED PRIZE MAY BE MADE
WINNER DOES NOT NEED TO BE PRESENT.



Special Reort
Click Here to View the Article and Video The Friday, November 3, 2006 Channel 6 ABC Action News telecast featured a Special Report by Sarah Bloomquist entitled "What Women Aren't Told". What Women Aren't Told in the workplace is a seminar given by Chris Flett, an entrepreneur turned corporate coach. The report featured the October Philadelphia Chapter ASWA meeting.

for the
link to the online article and video

Newsletter by eMail
We are still looking for members to receive the newsletter by eMail. We are up to 29 members, which is a savings of about $25.00 per month. If interested, please email Cynthia Makarczyk at with "ASWA Newsletter" in the subject line.

 Working Wardrobe
We are still collecting clothes for Working Wardrobe! The Working Wardrobe is a great charity where you can donate your old (or no longer fitting) office clothing. Please take the time to go through your closets and bring any contributions to any of our meetings. 
Visit their website at




ASWA National Headquarters
8405 Greensboro Drive, Suite 800 McLean, VA 22102
Phone: 800.326.2163 or 703.506.3265
Fax: 703.506.3266
eMail:
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