(From the UIRA President Ed Dove's column in the December 2022 Gray Hawk)

Greetings to our friends in the UIRA.

The snow is falling, the trees are beautiful when covered in white, and thankfully I can no longer see the leaves that are still on my lawn. Sometimes it is a pleasure to experience nature’s cycles.

The Board of Directors has been busy planning and implementing the transition from the old system we’ve used for decades to accomplish UIRA’s required bookkeeping to a new more modern and efficient system. I am happy to report that the transition is proceeding apace. We are modernizing and updating our web presence, increasing the efficiency and professionalism of our publications, and changing the method that we use to collect dues to make it easier to maintain accurate membership rolls. Board members are also finding ways to increase UIRA’s presence and influence in the life of the university.

Our hope is that these efforts will result in UIRA’s ability to offer richer and more varied programs for our membership.

For now, however, we will continue to collect dues and do the bookkeeping as we have done in the past. Our plans are to make the transition from the old system to the new system after the first of the year. I will make sure that everyone is well-educated and well-prepared before making the transition.

From the perspective of the typical UIRA member, the new method of maintaining membership rolls and collecting dues is going to be simpler, easier to use, and require much less time and effort than the old method. From the perspective of the volunteers who have been doing the time-consuming work of maintaining membership accounts, updating the website, and publishing the newsletter, the addition of Kellie Digmann as UIRA’s administrative services coordinator (ASC) has been, as one UIRA member put it, “rescuing and rejuvenating.” I agree. We hope you have noticed the professional look of our recent emails to you and gorgeous pictures of campus.

Read Kellie’s message and welcome her to our team (kellie-digmann@uiowa.edu).

Best wishes to all. Keep warm.

—Ed