Doll News Fall 2017 - 164

Kralovetz, and Beckie Decker. These donors have made it possible for us to preserve "Ethel Newcome", with her wardrobe, intact for
future generations to enjoy. Much gratitude is owed to them for this incredible gift. Once again I make a plea to all our members. Our
collection is ﬁrst class but it cannot survive without operating funds. Please remember UFDC in your charitable donations.
This leads me to our third standing Committee, the Fundraising Committee. This committee continues to encourage donations
in a variety of initiatives. Pay-a-Day, Adopt-a-Doll and the Annual Campaign continue to be strong campaigns. This year the
Annual Campaign raised close to $24,000 and saw a great increase in the number of individual donors. eBay continues to provide
a strong source of fundraising monies, and we appreciate the donations made by our members in support of this. Past President,
Linda Edward, has greatly assisted with the eBay project over the past two years and is thanked for her contribution to this
initiative. The Committee has made strides in educating our membership about the need for donations to the organization and
reminding members that we are a legitimate 501(c)3 charity and as a charity we must rely on donations in order to exist. I sincerely
thank all our members and clubs who support the organization through their donations. I would also like to recognize the donors
who have supported this year's convention so generously.
I am happy to report that our building has had no signiﬁcant issues this year. We did undertake repairs to a curb in our parking
lot. The costs of this repair were covered by a donation by Cindy Bailey and I thank Cindy for that. Other than that, costs were basic
maintenance, including snow removal and garden maintenance, and some minor repairs in the kitchen area.
Cynthia Musser has done an exemplary job as our DOLL NEWS Editor. She has produced seven exceptional issues of DOLL
NEWS during my Presidency. The role of DOLL NEWS Editor is not only an important one but a critical one for our organization.
For many of our members it is their only link to our organization. I have been most fortunate in having an Editor who understands
this and who has brought her professionalism, intelligence and creativity to this position. I cannot thank Cynthia enough for the
outstanding job she has done. I would also like to recognize her team. Associate Editor, Pat Burns; Advertising Manager, Donnell
Wisniewski; Copy Editor, Betty Stewart; Contributing Editor, Patti Fertel; and Photographers Karen Lintala and Sheryl Williams all
deserve a sincere round of thanks. I have also had the pleasure of working with the magazine's Graphic Designers, Ava Klein and
Marta Sivakoff, over several years and salute them for the excellent job they have done.
Your Regional Directors make a signiﬁcant commitment when they agree to take on this role. I applaud our RD's for their
dedication and enthusiasm. The quality of the RD Newsletters seems to increase each year. They are the link between the clubs
and the Board and they are indispensable to our organization. Further, all those who serve their clubs as Presidents, Treasurers,
Secretaries and other jobs deserve our recognition and thanks.
All the Ofﬁcers were fortunate to be able attend the Region 6 and Region 15 Regional Conferences. The Heritage Doll Guild
of the Yellowstone in Region 6 and the Doll Study Club of Boston in Region 15 were the hosts of these two events and are to be
applauded for the outstanding conferences they organized. Two more Regional Conferences are planned for next year which is
an indication of how active our Regions are.
The Executive Committee met twice in person this year. The ﬁrst meeting was held in the fall at UFDC headquarters and the
second was held this past spring at this year's convention hotel in Orlando. This allowed for the saving of costs as two of the
ofﬁcer's were able to drive and the hotel room was provided free of charge by the hotel for one night.
Also, an Open House was held at the ofﬁce in conjunction with a show by NADDA with the UFDC President and 1st Vice
President in attendance. A thank you is owed to NADDA for holding their show so close to UFDC headquarters and to the
volunteers who helped out with the Open House. It is estimated that approximately 200 people attended the highly successful
two-day event. It is hoped that in the future UFDC will have more opportunities to partner with this type of event as it proved
beneﬁcial to both our organization and to NADDA.
The Executive Committee has continued to explore ways that we can use technology to increase the exchanging and sharing
of information with our members. This year we have focussed on our own internal ofﬁce system and our website to see how
we can improve coordination between the two and improve our overall management. Loretta Nardone took on this huge task
and as a result we will be unveiling a new website in the fall that will have more capabilities but will also be simpler for our
members to use. Maria Greene, our Web Editor, and Matt Haynes, have been working with Loretta to put together the best web
site to serve the speciﬁc needs of our membership. Maria has served as our Web Editor as a volunteer for many years and UFDC
is extremely grateful to her for her contributions.
For the past two years I have had the privilege of working with the current Executive Committee: Loretta Nardone, Barbara
Stone and Maryll Goldsmith. Their devotion to UFDC has been demonstrated to me on a daily basis. We have shared the same
hopes and aspirations for our organization. I leave the Executive Committee contentedly and with conﬁdence knowing that the
future of UFDC is in such capable and caring hands. I urge all our members to give them your positive support as they work to
ensure that our organization remains strong and vital. It has been a great honor to serve with them.
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." These words were written by Helen Keller. They encapsulate the spirit
of volunteerism and of our organization. They represent the success we have had in the past and to accomplishing our goals in the
future. As I ﬁnish my Presidency, I thank all our members for giving me the opportunity to serve as your President. I look forward
to seeing what we can accomplish "together" in the future!

Janet Gula
UFDC President

164

FALL 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Doll News Fall 2017