Dave Bernard and Sol Coffino receive honorary membership in TEI.

• Position: Chapter News

During the 2010 Annual Conference, TEI International President Paul O'Connor presented Honorary Membership awards to David L. Bernard of the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter and Sol Coffino of the San Francisco Chapter. Mr. Bernard and Mr. Coffino are each a past President of the Institute.

In his remarks, Mr. O'Connor recounted Mr. Bernard's long history of service to TEI. He joined TEI in 1985, served as Regional Vice President, President of the Wisconsin Chapter, and the chapter's representative on TEI's Board of Directors. He was the impetus behind the formation of the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter in 1999 and represented the chapter on the Board of Directors until he was elected Treasurer in 2003. He also was an active member of, and served as chair of, the IRS Administrative Affairs Committee. "During his 25 years as a member, Dave demonstrated his professionalism, leadership qualifies, understanding of complex tax issues, and ability to set priorities and target key issues," Mr. O'Connor said.

Mr. O'Connor recalled that Mr. Bernard "encouraged his staff at Kimberly-Clark (as well as other members of the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter) to become involved in TEI activities, and by example helped draw many Chief Tax Officers to become more active in the Institute." Mr. Bernard's encouragement of others to become involved in TEI continued during his term as TEI International President--under the theme of TEI 2007: Building on Six Decades of Success--Member-Driven Solutions for Today, Enhanced Effectiveness for Tomorrow--when TEI chartered a new chapter, its 54th, in Nebraska and hosted its first meeting in the People's Republic of China.

"Dave's term as TEI's 2006-2007 President found the Institute striving to identify ways for the chapters and regions to invigorate their recruitment, education, and networking efforts, and to improve the Institute's leadership development process," Mr. O'Connor said. "In the advocacy area, Dave oversaw the expansion of the Institute's global technical activities, for example, by meeting with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and we continued to engage with the Financial Accounting Standards Board, as well as the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Treasury, and their Canadian counterparts." In accepting his award, Mr. Bernard stated that "being made an Honorary Member the same evening as Sol Coffino makes this doubly special. Few have had a TEI career that can match Sol's and no...