Verizon Pioneers

Dear Pioneers,

As your newly elected Executive Director I am writing to say how privileged I feel and proud I am to be able to help lead our Verizon, Frontier, FairPoint and Telcordia group for the next two 2 years. I represent our group of Chapters on the National TelecomPioneers board in Denver, Colorado and have been given voting rights by the VFFT chapter leaders and delegates. I promise to always keep the membership’s best interest in the forefront of any national decisions being made.  

My background covers thirty six years as an employee of Verizon and its former companies (NET, NYNEX, Bell Atlantic) when I retired in 2007. I became a Pioneer in 1989 and have never looked back. Always involved as a board member at either the Council or Chapter level, I have dedicated my volunteer service through Pioneers.  I thoroughly believe in the founding fathers motto of “Answering the Call of Those in Need” with “Fellowship, Loyalty & Service” as the words that guide our actions.

Our VFFT Group is a diverse one for sure. We cover sixteen states, mostly on the east coast, but also include Washington State, California, Florida, Texas and Illinois. We bring a rich variety of cultures, ideas and enthusiasm to our group’s volunteer efforts.

In 2013 we will be faced with many new challenges. There will be no project funding from our affiliated companies, membership dues are diminishing due to early retirements with new membership drives not filling the gap and our overall donations from our Direct Mail appeals is diminishing even more each year.   

 Funding our organization’s efforts will be one of the primary focuses in 2013. We will be offering the membership opportunities to make a donation to their chapters through a discounted membership to BJs Wholesale Club coming out in March of 2013, a Win-Win for everyone. We will be looking to create partnerships with local organizations, companies and non-profits to help us to continue our community efforts.

Your Chapter leadership teams have developed a strategic plan which I will share with you in the coming months. We will have monthly Group calls to keep us on track and to share ideas. We will be meeting as a Group in April 2013 to work on issues of importance and in keeping with our strategic plan and that of the National TelecomPioneers.

Through all of this, Pioneers will still remain dedicated to their communities and to our motto of Answering the Call of Those in Need.  

I look forward to serving you and working with everyone to keep Pioneers in the forefront of volunteering in their communities.

Yours in Pioneering,