President's Message

May 2013
Dear PGGNE Members and Friends,

Can it really be that the 2012-13 program year is over? As I write this the dust has not yet settled from our All-Day Conference and Annual Meeting. I hope that you were able to attend.

The day before the conference, PGGNE offered our day-long Planned Giving Fundamentals course taught by Craig Wruck. It was the second sellout in as many years proving that there is a demand for this offering as new practitioners, as well as those whose jobs are related (major gifts, annual gifts and support staff) benefitted. Thanks to retiring board member Rebecca Scott for arranging for our use of the wonderful facilities at Tufts Dental School, as well as to PG Calc for their sponsorship.

The conference marked the culmination of months of planning by our co-chairs Julie Tyson and Charlie Glassenberg. Special thanks to Pentera for being the conference sponsor this year, as well as for their commitment to continue in this role next year. The numerous track sessions provided many opportunities to hone one’s planned giving skills and we appreciate the efforts of our numerous presenters. Thanks to BNY Mellon, State Street Global Advisors, and Kaspick & Company for their track sponsorships. In his keynote address, Paul Schervish gave us all some things to think about as we go about our daily business. At lunch, Tom Gardner’s remarks were insightful and several of his references prompted me to make up a “to do” list for Bob. Thanks to Boston Private Bank & Trust Company for its sponsorship of lunch. We are also grateful for the financial support from our other sponsors throughout the year. Make sure that you download the numerous conference handouts that are available at www.pggne.org onto the thumb drive provided by Hemenway & Barnes LLP.

Wasn’t the tribute to Charlie Collier wonderful! Thanks to Al Halliday for arranging this. Charlie is a former PGGNE President and recipient of the David M. Donaldson Award. His ability to talk with high net worth families is legendary. Thanks to Harvard for making his seminal work on the topic, Wealth In Families, available for all attendees.

You have one last assignment. Please, when you get either the fundamentals survey or the one for the conference (or both), click on the link and provide us with your feedback. In June, incoming President Charlie Gordy will be convening a session with the new PGGNE board to lay the groundwork for what I know will be yet another successful year. You, as a member of PGGNE, need to know that the board values your feedback, and makes plans for the program year taking it into account.

This marks the end of my four year term. Over these years I have been proud to work with so many dedicated colleagues to bring you, our members, high quality programming that is relevant to your work. You should know that both board members and our presenters are all volunteers who willingly share their time, talent, and expertise with us.

I will close my final remarks by paraphrasing former Dartmouth College President John Sloan Dickey’s sendoff to graduating seniors: “And now the word is ‘so long,’ for in the PGGNE fellowship there is no parting.” I look forward to seeing you at our next PGGNE meeting on September 11, 2013!

Bob Barr
President
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it