Fellow Members of AFM655,
I am both humbled and honored to have been elected to the position of President of your Local. I very specifically call it your Local because it belongs to each and every one of us, the membership. This Local will never be anything more than what we make of it.
We all know the perils and consequences of working in a "Right to Work" state like Florida. This fact makes it ever more important that we, the membership, work together to build a Local that we all want. Right now my vision of that will focus on making AFM655 far more of a resource to the membership than it is now. If we ever hope to bring value to the dues members pay, we must be creative in providing useful services. We must also build our membership base. The financial realities are that we need more income to do more. What better way to attract new members (and income) than to make membership worthwhile? Like many of you, I have been a member of this Local for a long time, close to 30 years in my case. I remember what a good Local can do for the musician community, how it can be a rallying point for musicians to find more and better jobs. You have my pledge that I will be working to help us achieve that end. We will need all of you to help make Local 655 into what we all want.Please enjoy my best wishes to your and your family in this holiday season!
Fraternally,
Jay Bertolet