2023, A Year of Reflection from the GMAA President

Dear Friends and Supporters,

It is hard to believe, but 2023 is drawing to a close, and the holidays are upon us. On behalf of the GMAA Board of Directors, we would like to wish you and your families a joyous holiday, and a healthy and prosperous new year.

This was a very momentous year for our organization, a year of great achievements and new highs: we were able to award Forty (40) scholarships this year, more than in any previous year, and nearly doubling last year’s. We cherish the process of selecting, interviewing and awarding the scholars, and it would not be possible without the dedication of the scholarship committee: Nelson Gonzalez, Marc Henderson, Konrad Walter and of course, Vicky Sokolowsky. Thank you, team, for your hard work.

Once again, we succeeded in providing our members an excellent venue to learn about various aspects of our industry, while networking with their peers. Our monthly luncheons generated an average of 60 participants and covered many interesting topics and fascinating guest speakers and panelists. We welcome suggestions or requests for topics and speakers for next year. For those who are interested, Luncheon sponsorship for 2024 will be $1,400.

As of January 1st, our membership dues will increase slightly, in line with inflation, but not to worry, we still offer free membership to students, and discounted membership to seniors and under 30 individuals. Please check our web site for the new rates.

For those of you who attended our Gala, which was wonderfully hosted by our talented duo of MCs, Sasha Lightbourne of Boeing and Eden Chakol of WPLG Channel 10, you were treated to a fun evening James Bond’s Casino Royale style. We had Roulette, poker and Baccarat tables, but more importantly, we recognized our industry’s best luminaries, as well as our scholarship recipients. The event was sold out, as well as the award sponsorships, and we want to thank our generous sponsors again. We were able to collect a record amount of funds, which will enable us to give even more scholarships in 2024. Photos from the event are available on our web site www.gmaa.gala

Please mark your calendars, next year the venue will again be the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort, and the date is October 26th. You do not want to miss this “rocking” evening. You can also participate in our “Swinging for Education” golf tournaments in the Spring and the Miami “winter.”

As always, I want to thank our team of wonderful Board members, as well as Connie Devine, for all that they do. A special thank you to my long-time friend, Marc Henderson, former GMAA President, who, after a long and illustrious career at MDAD is retiring. Marc will continue to be involved with GMAA as Director Emeritus.

ONWARD & UPWARD

Aviv