Many members may not realize that 2009 represented quite a milestone for our Delaware Chapter. It will be 10 years since a group of contractors, including construction managers, general contractors and subcontractors, traveled to Philadelphia for ASPE meetings, tired of the lack of emphasis on our Delaware market land probably the commute to Philadelphia) and decided to start a new ASPE chapter in Delaware. What is important is not the history of how the chapter was started but that through the hard work and imagination of a handful of people, our Chapter 75 was organized. The result was the establishment of an organization that works for the benefit of our members and their companies, supports the ASPE national agenda, supports education and training programs and offers a unique opportunity for interaction among professionals in our industry.

When our Chapter was first established, we reveled in the success of signing over seventy members in our first year. We were quickly informed by our supporters at ASPE national that typically a new Chapter with our geographical area will start out with thirty or forty members, but will decline within the first three to five years to about 20 members. Presently we are carrying 31 memberships with 9 of those being certified CPE's. Breaking the standard trend for ASPE Chapters is no small task and requires not only a commitment from the membership, but also a commitment by those who choose to lead by becoming active in the organization. And therein lies the Achilles heal of organizations like ours: without participation by the active membership and a willingness to rotate our managing Board these organizations will decline and close or simply lose their Charter. Our organization must work tirelessly to maintain membership and continually change with the environment in which we are working and so far we have been a success story.

Declining memberships typically lead to another difficult problem to overcome and that is the loss or lack of revenue with which to operate. This is usually the double edged sword that dooms many organizations. Fewer memberships cause less attendance and less attendance at our programs and functions equals less income to use for our programs. But fortunately for our Chapter, the last ten years have been well managed and we are well positioned to continue our organization and offer the programs and scholarships for students working to enter our industry. Once again this year, we should be able to offer two scholarships to students entering our industry.

With unprecedented upheavals in our financial markets, a near zero growth in residential construction and a paltry 1.5% GNP expected for 2010, we cannot be blind to the fact that difficult times are upon our industry. It is during times such as these that organizations like ours face our most difficult challenges. Memberships decline, attendance at our meetings decline and companies once willing to support the organization with both memberships and financial support of our programs are less inclined to do so. While the task of keeping it all together begins to feel like an uphill climb on a slippery slope, with proper planning, good communication within our membership and a committed Board, we can overcome the negatives and continue our positive impact for our members.

It is for these reasons that we have chosen to direct our energies toward two major goals for the 2009 - 2010 year. The first is simply to make every effort to increase our membership by any number possible; and the second is to encourage membership participation to the greatest extent possible by agilely communicating with our members and offering diverse programs. We firmly believe that with the commitment of our current membership we can reach our goals, but more importantly maintain a viable Chapter and continue to provide the benefits to our members and the community. We are grateful for your enthusiasm and participation to date and look forward to taking that enthusiasm into 2010.