First, I want to thank our out-going President Mr. Ed Coughlin. Ed has successfully led this club the past two years. His leadership and energy will be an inspiration to me as I try to emulate all the good work he was able to accomplish. On behalf of all of us, thank you Ed.

As we enter our 68th year, I’m reminded of how successful The Touchdown Club has been over the past six decades. It is one of the most long-standing, successful clubs of its type in the country. Year after year, we have been able to help the many different organizations in Arlington because of the ever-faithful commitment of this club’s members. Our winning formula for success, although simple, is that much more significant given our accomplishments.

I’m confident that our 2011/2012 season will be another successful year for the Club. Our September kick-off dinner meeting was very well attended, far greater than previous Septembers of recent memory. Consistent with our tradition, we presented our Audit report, inducted a new President and announced a new slate of Officers. Fred Harris and Dave Emerson have joined the Board this year. We extended a warm welcome to both Fred and Dave. Sadly, we also paused for a moment of silence for our beloved Rich Cusolito. Rich passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer and will be sorely missed.

As we reflect on last year’s theme of increasing membership, we continue to implement a natural progression of that goal by looking to increasing members’ participation. Because our lives are busy and challenging, it’s very easy to miss monthly dinners, forego special raffles and other fund raising events. However, if we try and remember that for every dollar we contribute, that same dollar will be used for some local need – whether it is for a sports team, program or scholarship.

So, as we look ahead to this year, I ask all of us to be forever mindful of our participation. This is a wonderful organization. We have become accustomed to delicious meals, entertaining speakers and a phenomenal golf tournament, but our greatness lies in its membership. Your participation over the years has been a gift to so many student athletes in town. Let’s look forward to increasing that participation in order to help even more.

My thanks to all of you,

Mike Dolan
President