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Happy New Year! I hope all
of you have a healthy and prosperous 2012. It seems like both the economy and the weather are cooperating so far, and I have
heard many stories from both my peers and suppliers that business seems to be picking up. After last year, this should be
a well-deserved respite. Speaking of last year, the first half of my stewardship here with the CGDA did not go as planned.
My number one goal as President was to try and increase membership. Sadly, membership was own. A year ago in my first President’s
message, I stated how we could do things to make the CGDA more fun and get more companies active. I feel a bit like Rex Ryan
at this point. Not only did membership decrease, but we decided to not have GlassDay New England last spring and we were unable
to create any seminars. As a result, it was a pretty bad year financially for the CGDA. CGDA was also unfortunate to lose
our Executive Director, Valerie Stolfi Collins, in December 2011 when she left The TCORS Capitol Group to pursue higher education.
Valerie had served us most competently for the past nine years and she will be missed greatly. We bear her no ill-will and
wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors. I’m pleased that Allyson and Alan Deckman have worked hard to fill
the gap that Valerie left and to provide a seamless transition. As of January 2012, Krystn Ledoux of The TCORS Capitol Group
will be serving as the Executive Director of CGDA. Again, following Rex’s lead, I am staying positive about the future.
We have high expectations for 2012. We are working in earnest with the Massachusetts Glass Dealers Association on GlassDay
2012 which will be held on Friday, April 27th, from 2:00-8:00PM at the Mohegan Sun. While the previous trade shows were
held on Saturdays, we have elected to hold the show on a Friday evening this year in the hope that it will be more convenient
for both vendors and attendees. We also expect to have a tremendous increase in Auto Glass representation. This is something
that has been a bit lacking in the past, but thanks to the efforts of MGDA and the CGDA’s newest board member, John
Wisnewski of Payless Auto Glass, that will change. I guarantee that this will be the best GlassDay event ever (there I go
again).
Frank Pitrone
President CGDA
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