Realignment of staff will permit TEI to better serve the membership.

• Author: McCormally, Timothy J.
• Position: Tax Executives Institute

When Rick Skippon, TEI's Publications Manager and Webmaster, told me in late February that he would be leaving TEI's staff, my feelings were definitely mixed. On the one hand, it is always gratifying to see someone you've work closely with for many years move on to "bigger and better things." On the other hand, Rick's departure after nearly six years at the helm of TEI's print and electronic publications had the potential for disrupting a full range of TEI's projects. Practically everything people see from and about TEI goes through Rick's office--the brochures for our educational programs, our Membership Roster, The Tax Executive magazine, and virtually everything you see on our website. To be sure, life and work at TEI will go on without Rick Skippon on the staff, but it would be an understatement to say he won't be missed, both professionally and personally. We wish him well.

A confession: The first thing I said when Rick approached me was "Oh, sure, we finally get the magazine back on schedule, and you leave!" This issue--Rick's last project--should hit your desks by the end of April, not as good as we'd like but better than several issues last year. (One measure of Rick's professionalism is that he extended his time with TEI to finish this issue.)

Every challenge, however, should also be viewed as an opportunity, and that's what we are endeavoring to do with Rick's departure, as well as the resignation earlier this year of Cathy Morris after almost four years as the administrative assistant to the legal staff. Rick's and Cathy's leave taking prompted a review of TEI's staffing needs (including our ongoing commitment to better internal controls), and led to creation of a new position, a promotion, and the shift of duties among several employees. The intention of the changes is not to "shift the deck chairs," but to enable us to do a better job at delivering core services to TEI members. Ultimately, of course, the membership will be the judge of how well we do.

Realignment of Administrative Staff

TEI's Director of Administration is Debbie Giesey, a 22-year veteran of TEI's staff, whose duties range from running the office (including the HR function) and serving as our controller and CFO (handling our books and managing our investments), to overseeing our membership function and keeping our chapter and regional leaders apprised of the multitudinous deadlines that confront them on an ongoing basis. In these efforts, Debbie is assisted by...