What a fascinating year we have encountered so far! From considerable snow to record flooding, the Middle Tennessee area has had its fair share of bad weather. Unfortunately, the recent flooding has affected much of our community and even members of our local CAI chapter. My thoughts and prayers are with all those people who have been affected. I am proud to live in the Nashville area and to be associated with CAI, because both responded courageously and generously to the flood victims. Again, the members of CAI-TN know how to step up to the plate when the need presents itself!

As I have stated in the past, one of our goals this year is to do more with charitable giving and services. CAI is well on its way to raising our goal of $10,000 for our adopted charity, Thistle Farms. Tom Tinnel has done an outstanding job this year coordinating and organizing the Charity Committee. I appreciate his dedication and efforts associated with this worthy cause. Tom has announced the first ever CAI-TN Bowling Tournament which he has planned for July 24, in an effort to raise needed funds for Thistle Farms. You can learn more about Thistle Farms at www.ThistleFarms.org.

CAI had its first ever joint mixer along with the IREM organization in mid-May. We had over 80 people attend the fun event at Cabana, which proved to be a tremendous success! A special thanks to Paul Thornton for coordinating the event. Get ready for the next mixer in September.

Our Education Committee has been working diligently at creating educational opportunities for our members. Dick Krebs and Kathy Holbrook have coordinated an intriguing class set for June 18, in which Carol Berz will instruct on the topic of mediation and its benefits to our industry. This is sure to be an informative class, and you can earn 6 points of continuing education credits. You can obtain all the details and register for the class via the CAI website.

Coming soon, the process to develop the first-ever CAI-TN Calendar will begin. Pat Walker is spearheading this project which will be produced in a fun atmosphere in which companies can bid on the specific month in which their company desires to have their photo displayed on the calendar. Stay tuned for more information regarding this exciting project!

The golf tournament was a tremendous success again this year! The weather was great and it was held in April at the beautiful Gaylord Springs course. There is an enormous amount of time and effort associated with organizing the CAI golf tournament, and I want to extend a special thanks to Rachel Simmons and her committee for volunteering their valuable time and talents to the golf tournament again this year. Fun was had by all who attended, and we were able to raise significant funds for the chapter and our charity!

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your president for 2010. I look forward to an enjoyable remainder of the year with my friends and colleagues at CAI.