Recently the NALA Board met to determine the strategy and vision for the future. We completed the session with what next chapter in the life of the organization will look like.  This post will outline the deliverables we would like to share with you which will include the following:

• Our NEW Mission Statement
• Our NEW Vision Statement
• Our NEW Re-branding Concept
• Our NEW Membership Groups
• Our NEW Dues Structure
• Our NEW Spring and Fall Conferences

Our New Mission Statement:

We support the providers, distributors, and recipients of Lifeline services through education, cooperation and advocacy.

We wanted a mission statement to be based on who NALA is and what it represents.  As a Lifeline advocacy group, we don’t want to be confused with prepaid, wireless, or broadband.  NALA is the only Industry trade group specifically focused on the Lifeline segment of Telecom.  We do this by education, fostering cooperation among the members, and advocating for Lifeline regulations.

Our New Vision Statement:

In America, every person should have access to essential communication services.

If all members support this statement, our vision becomes rock solid. Our hope is that anyone in the Lifeline segment including ETCs, distributors, suppliers, interested individuals, and the recipients of Lifeline services will join the cause and support Lifeline any way they can.

New Membership Groups:

In the past our members were only made up of ETCs and vendors. Going forward, we will  include those that want to support our mission and vision. We will gather information from our members such as voluntary surveys that we believe will radically change the negative perceptions of our Industry. By having members ranging from ETCs, vendors, distributors, and customers, we will have access to information about each supporting group within the industry.  We believe with this information, we will be able to provide rule makers the actual facts and thus affect our industry in a positive light.  The new groups of membership will be:

Members:

• ETC (active or pending application in at least one state).
• Suppliers currently doing business or would like to do business with an ETC.
• Distributors (ISOs and agents)
• Lifeline advocate
• Lifeline participant (active or inactive)

NALA Board Members:

• David B. Dorwart, Chairman
• Dave Skogen, Treasurer
• Tom Armstrong, Secretary
• Jim Dry, Program Advocate
• Steve Klein, Social Program Advocate

New Spring & Fall Conferences:

Spring Conference:  Our annual all members conference will be celebrated each year in the spring.  With our new membership structure, we believe this annual conference will be a big boost for the Lifeline segment.  We anticipate having forums for best practices, compliance seminars for distributors, vendor time, and a special time set aside for business associates and friends to get to know each other.  As in the past, there will be a fee associated with attending the conference.

Fall Conference: Our fall conference will be for ETCs exclusively.  Because of our new mission, we believe strongly this conference should include those licensed to provide the service of Lifeline only.  Vendors, distributors, and business associates would be able to attend by invitation only.

We hope all those involved in the Lifeline Industry will see the vision of “In America, every person should have access to essential communication services” and understand NALA’s mission of “We support the providers, distributors, and recipients of Lifeline services through education, cooperation and advocacy.”

Thank you all for the support you have provided NALA and the friendships you have provided to me personally over the past 14 years.  Your board stands ready to support NALA and our vision.

David B. Dorwart

Chairman