TEI to honor two members at Annual Conference: Ray Rossi's and Phil Cohen's contributions recognized.

• Position: Tax Executives Institute

TEI's Board of Directors has unanimously approved two awards, which will be presented during the 66th Annual Conference in San Francisco. Specifically, at a meeting on August 9, the Institute voted to confer Honorary Membership on Raymond G. Rossi of the Santa Clara Valley Chapter and to present its President's Award to Philip G. Cohen of the New York Chapter.

Raymond G. Rossi recently retired from Intel Corporation after a distinguished career as a tax professional and a member of TEI. His service to TEI, both at the local and Institute level, has also been distinguished, culminating in his term as 2003-2004 International President. Mr. Rossi worked both tirelessly and effectively to advance the mission, principle, and purposes of the Institute and to improve tax administration for the common benefit of taxpayers and government.

A TEI member since 1986, Mr. Rossi served as a Regional Vice President and President of the Santa Clara Valley Chapter, as well as a member of the Institute's Executive Committee. He was active on several TEI's committees, including its Federal Tax, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and U.S. Possessions, and International Tax Committees, the last of which he chaired from 1990 to 1992.

During his term as Institute President, Mr. Rossi framed TEI's 2003-2004 plan of action focused on communication and member service. To advance these twin objectives, he established working groups on Engaging, Empowering, and Enhancing Member Value. Through Mr. Rossi's leadership, lines of communication were increased through the use of "blast emails" and periodic advocacy alerts to chapter leaders. In addition, the concept of holding conferences targeted to the needs of senior tax executives was successfully implemented. Further, he oversaw the development of a "How To" advocacy guide to demonstrate how easy--and effectively--members could become involved.

In the advocacy area, Mr. Rossi's term was rich with success, including leadership in the areas of the then new Schedule M-3, the Internal Revenue Service's services regulations under section 482, the OECD's permanent establishment initiative, and the...