FEI awards honor individuals, chapters.

• Author: Ferling, Rhona F.
• Position: Financial Executive Institute

At FEI's annual conference in Washington, D.C., in October. FEI President Norm Roy honored two FEI members, Buel T. (Tod) Adams and Ian D.G. McKechnie, with distinguished-service awards for outstanding service on the national and chapter levels, respectively. In recognizing Adams, vice president and treasurer of CBI Industries and a member of the Chicago Chapter, and McKechnie, director of housing development at Central City Concern in Portland, Ore. and a member of the Portland Chapter, Roy praised them for personifying "dedication, commitment and leadership worthy of recognition."

Adams has long been active on the national level. He's served as chairman for the Committee on Government Liaison and for the Ethics and Eligibility Committee. where he is stilt a member. As chairman of CGL, he testified for FEI before several subcommittees of the House Government Operations Committee earlier this year to press for full implementation of the CFO Act of 1990. And Adams plans to go back and do it again, "because Congress has indicated it's looking to our committee to be the watchdog on this issue and wants us to testify annually," he reveals.

As FEI's 59th Annual Conference chairman in 1990. Adams introduced the concept of corporate sponsorship, which made for a very successful conference financially. He also serves on the advisory committee for FEI's quarterly membership survey and is the media spokesperson on the survey results. That's a lot for anyone's plate, but Adams believes "It's everyone's responsibility to give of their time and talents to their professional organization."

McKechnie's efforts have likewise helped revitalize and strengthen the Portland Chapter membership. An FEI member since 1983, McKechnie has served on the chapter's board for the last seven years and has held every chapter office during his tenure, including chapter president. He developed a conference jointly sponsored by the Portland and Puget Sound chapters, first held in 1987 and held bi-annually since then. The aim of the conference, McKechnie says, is "the cross-fertilization of ideas by people who may not have the resources or the time to attend the national conference." As such, the conference focuses on speakers from local companies but also includes speakers on broader business trends and developments. A good balance is essential, because "We don't have anything if we don't have good programs," McKechnie firmly believes.

Chapter Awards

The Dallas and New...