 I am honored and humbled to have been elected to be the President of the Cuban-American CPAs Association and its Foundation (CACPAF). This great Association was established the year after I was born in 1980. I can only imagine the struggles and hard work our founding members endured and the great dedication they had during those crucial first years. I believe they had a vision of an Association that would be a pillar in our community and profession, and that is exactly what this Association is today.
This Association has a rich history of CPA professionals giving back to our community and helping its members. Thanks to the countless hours of hard work and dedication by our past-Presidents, board members, members at large and sponsors, we have built a permanent foundation and a perpetual Association in our community. During this past year, the Association hosted various events that helped us continue our mission of giving back to our community:
• In November 2008, we held our Annual Fundraising Gala and gave out over $10,000 in scholarships to students from Miami-Dade Community College, Barry University, Florida International University, St. Thomas University and the University of Miami. A special thanks to Northwestern Mutual for their sponsorship of Scholarship Night, to the Professors at the Universities and College and the Scholarship Committee for their commitment and hard work in making our Scholarship Night a huge success.
• In December 2008, we returned to Centro Mater for our annual Toy Drive. Thanks to the generous contributions of our members, we were able to purchase toys for the needy children at Centro Mater. A special thanks to Susy Vega, Frank & Maria Gonzalez and all those involved in making this event one of the most rewarding days of the year.
• During 2008, we hosted various Continuing Professional Education (CPE) seminars for our members including the 2nd annual Hispanic Office Managing Partner (OMP) Forum and the annual Marco Island Retreat. A special thanks to the various sponsors we had for the CPE seminars during 2008 (ADP, Bernstein Global Wealth Management, alliantgroup and Northwestern Mutual). I would also like to thank Ileana M. Valdes for the great job she did this year and every year with the Marco Island Retreat.
• In October 2008, the joint golf tournament with the Cuban-American Bar Association (CABA) was once again a great event. The golf tournament was sold-out weeks prior to the date of the event and proceeds raised will once again go towards both Associations’ Scholarship Fund. A special thanks to the CACPAF & CABA golf tournament committee for once again putting together a successful golf tournament.
I would also like to thank our 2008 Gala Sponsors: Platinum Sponsors (Bacardi/Dewars12, FICPA and TotalBank) and our Silver Sponsors (BankAtlantic, Berenfeld, Spritzer, Shechter & Sheer, LLP, Deloitte, LLP, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, Staples, and Wachovia Bank). Thank you for your continuous and generous support of our Association.
Just like our founding members had a vision, I too have a vision and strongly believe that this Association will be around for many more years to come. I’m committed, as is our board, to continue taking the necessary steps to ensure that our vision of a perpetual Association holds true. I believe we are at a crossroad and now is the time to begin writing the next chapter of this Association. I am excited to begin working with our great Board of Directors and look forward to a very successful year for this Association.
Adelante,
Adrian Alfonso, CPA
President
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