MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Jill Tardiff

Dear friends and colleagues of the Women's National Book Association:

A recent study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships finds that it only takes ten minutes-a true "first impression"-for people to form judgments that affect lasting relationships. In addressing you for the first time as national president, I feel as though that's all the time I've got to articulate my vision for our association, as expressed by our officers, chapter presidents and committee chairs. Even so, I know that first impressions are confirmed, and relationships deepened, when people work together in common cause. The Women's National Book Association is our common cause, and our work together on its behalf, and its name, will prove the strength of the ties that bind us-our love of books and the culture of books, our deriving strength from the company of women, and our activism on behalf of literacy and the power that it brings to the disenfranchised.

The first thing to acknowledge is the powerful first impression made on me by those of you whom I've met and worked with thus far. In June, I attended the annual meeting in Detroit and shared meals and talk with the women who make up our board of directors. Later that month, I joined the Boston chapter for their 50th anniversary celebration. In both instances, I met women with abiding ties to the past-our organization is rightfully proud of its heritage-as well as a passion for activism, for renewal.

It was immediately apparent how seriously these women take the two-part mission of the Women's National Book Association, the educational and the charitable. The goal of education is to impart knowledge and, in its highest form, wisdom. The goal of charity is to bring our sisters into the circle of well being that we ourselves inhabit. Our organization has worked hard to fulfill its charge for eighty-seven years. Each chapter has done it in its own way-through workshops, panels, newsletters, awards, donations advocacy, community involvement, mentoring, and a host of other means. Each chapter has seen the cycle of activism ebb and flow, as does the cycle of membership. Each chapter rides the dynamic forces of our industry and our society. But we must recruit new members. One of my visions is to see this association live to be 100, which will not happen without an infusion of new blood.

I took my undergraduate degree at St. Elizabeth's, an all-women's college in New Jersey. After my mastectomy, I joined a women's "I Cancer-Vive" support group as well as the nonprofit organization Living Beyond Breast Cancer. After having opted for consulting and freelancing as a career, I joined the American Woman's Economic Development Corp. (now defunct) and the NYC chapter of the WNBA. In each case, I found comfort (real comfort, which is strong) in the company of the women around me. The WNBA began as a women's association and continues proudly in that tradition. Its work-both educational and charitable-radiates out through four concentric circles and echoes back. At the center are the executive board and national officers, followed by the chapter heads and members, followed by the book industry, then finally the general public. Our work must touch all the constituencies. And the work of the executive board must be informed by feedback from the other circles.

I see this work as flowing out through three channels: Service, advocacy, and empowerment. These will build on the legacy we've been given and will allow us the opportunity to meet the new realities of our industry and communities. Each chapter must define for itself how it meets the challenges of serving its members and its community. Each chapter must choose the causes it will champion. By serving others, we will build our own confidence and encourage the better angels of our own natures. By serving others as members of a group, our individual efforts will be strengthened so we can accomplish more than if we were to act alone. In serving others together, our sense of belonging to the group will grow deeper.

It is an honor to serve the WNBA as president. Over the next year, let's work together to build it up. In so doing, may our first impressions be confirmed such that our relationship is a lasting one.

Best regards,
Jill A. Tardiff