Vickie Preston 2002 NACE Affiliate Member of
the Year
Vickie Preston is owner and President of Sounds Perfect
Entertainment, Inc, a full service entertainment agency.
However, it's hard to think of Vickie as an affiliate member of NACE.
The word primary would be more appropriate. If an affiliate
member was eligible, we think she would be a strong candidate as
National President, at least in the eyes of the Baltimore Chapter.
Vickie has been a very active member
of the Baltimore Chapter since 1997 and as her second, the chapter
of Greater Washington DC. Upon her first year of eligibility, she
began her term on the Baltimore Chapter's Board of Directors in
August of 1998, which became the beginning of her success on this
Chapter's Board. She served as Program Chair for the first two
years, 1999 and 2000. Throughout those two years, she did a
first-class job of turning our monthly meetings into events.
Every event has a theme that was carried from the invitation to the
decor, food, and speaker. During Vickie's term as Program
Chair, our attendance continuously grew and by the end of term had
increased over 100% in two years, with attendance reaching an
average of 65% of total membership. Her work set a precedent
for our current programs.
After raising the program standards to
an almost unreachable height, Vickie was nominated and voted as
Director of Membership in 2001 and reelected in 2002. Over the
years, the Baltimore Chapter's membership increased, but always
struggled at becoming and staying a centurion chapter: sustained
membership over 100. Since January 2001 when Vickie took over
as Director of Membership, we have increased our membership from 102
to 137 members, successfully concentrating on Primary Members.
As Director of Membership, Vickie
maintains the chapter's database on a system that tracks all the
member's activity and updated information. Designed by her
husband, Vickie presented this Microsoft Access database at
the 2001 Leadership Conference. After this presentation, the
demand for this type of program on the local level helped the
support for the implementation of the GoNACE program we have
today. Without a second thought, Vickie was nominated to serve
as the Baltimore Chapter representative for the GoNACE pilot chapter
program for the Baltimore Chapter and went through a two day
training course this past April.
Vickie's dedication as a board member
is only part of her contributions to the Baltimore Chapter.
She has donated the entertainment services of her company to many
events throughout the past four years. She provided bands for
our fund raiser in 2000 and 2001, several monthly events during the
year and (Powerhouse) for the off-site reception of the 2000
leadership conference in Baltimore. In addition, she provided
entertainment for some of the Chapter's community projects, which
included the first annual barbecue at St Vincent's (Children Home)
and the 2001 Academy Awards for the Academy of Travel and
Tourism. According to the records, Vickie has attended every
meeting and community project for our chapter in the last four
years. She is also an endowment donor for the Foundation of
NACE.
You don't have to travel to Baltimore
to meet Vickie. She has attended every Leadership and
Education Conference since joining NACE in November of 1997.
She served as a very active member for the committee that hosted the
2000 Leadership Conference in Baltimore. Admiring her
success an an Affiliate business owner and her active interest in
NACE, the National Board invited her to speak at the 2000, 2001, and
2002 Leadership Conferences. At the 2001 Leadership Conference
in San Jose, she co-chaired one of the luncheons that was a mock
monthly NACE meeting. Not only was the luncheon a success, but
also the raffle that Vickie organized accounted for a donation in
the amount of $800.00 to the Foundation of NACE. This
tradition was carried on at the 2002 Leadership Conference.
Vickie has also taken her speeches to
the local chapters. She teamed with Dominic Savino, President
of the Philadelphia Chapter, and spoke to the Baltimore Chapter in
February about 'Getting More Out of Your NACE
Membership." She was invited to speak at the DC Chapter
in March and presented an "Interactive Programs" topic.
Vickie is not about to stop until the
job is complete. She represented the Affiliate Membership as
the National CPC Affiliate representative from July 2001 until the
present.
Although Vickie has supported the
Baltimore Chapter and the National Conferences, she still manages to
run one of the most successful entertainment companies in Baltimore.
Most of her competitors have a heavily staffed office, but Vickie
shares her success with only an administrative assistant to assure
personal service.
It is with true pride that the
Baltimore Chapter of NACE congratulates Vickie Preston as National
Affiliate Member of the Year.