Connect. Unite. Empower. Serve.

Thank you for this honor of serving as your president for this coming year. I am joined by a group of talented Board and Committee leaders and our amazing staff, who are excited to serve our enrolled agent (EA) community.

We have emerged from several years of Covid restrictions into a nation of shifted priorities that have forever altered businesses and associations. Customer loyalty and volunteerism have declined, and these trends have impacted how many organizations operate. The National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) is no exception, as we face significant challenges in sustaining our organization in its current form.

Professional organizations exist to connect, unite, empower, and serve their members. Connection is our foundation, linking members to members, membership to leadership, and our association to the public and to the governing bodies. Unity is the result of having a powerful and collective vision within a culture of trust that respects differences of opinion, background, and situation. Empowerment comes through providing leadership and professional development at all stages of the EA career. Service makes all of these things possible, from the complex work of executing our strategic plan to the simple act of helping one another.

The NAEA has strengths in each of these areas, but more is needed to stay connected–and attractive–in the association world of the present and of the future. Organizations do not stay the same as time goes by. Members’ participation and practice needs change and with them, the relevance of the current ways of operating. Members age and retire and take their experiences with them. Newer professionals are looking to find a place to create their own. These truths are not mutually exclusive. Our traditions that served us well provide both a foundation and a history to build the vision of the NAEA of tomorrow, something we must do willingly (and bravely) to ensure the continuation of what is our EA home.

This year, we will be coming together to decide how best to keep our association engaging, equitable, and sustainable. We have our successful core programs of advocacy and education, and our ever-increasing list of member benefits and opportunities that will continue as they are. Our immediate focus will be to discern and decide how our current and future members are best served in our community of 50 states, and whether our current
affiliated structure accomplishes this.

The NAEA’s Component Structure Task Force has spent this past year in deep research and discussion with affiliate leaders and other stakeholders. Whatever direction the organization decides to take, member input before and after that decision will be essential. Discussion drives direction, and it takes many voices, both loud and quiet, to find the way forward. Your opinions matter. This is our organization, dedicated to the enrolled agent credential, and to each other as peers.

I look forward to our time together.