From the President

This year I plan to continue building on the success of recent years with the following goals in mind:

• Continue to elevate the profile for the WBA.  We need to encourage area residents to look to the WBA before considering alternatives for a particular product or service. It means improving referrals from fellow members, WBA sponsorships, public relations, all building on the “Buy Local” theme from last year.
• Develop more member services.  Dinners and social hours have provided opportunities for networking. We need more benefits for members including opportunities to share experiences and support each other as advisors and/or sounding boards. One step is the new Business Brainstorming Sessions which will be held each month, a place to share ideas on a given topic.
• Develop a more extensive schedule of activities. My goal is 2 or more WBA events or activities each month. These will range from social hours to dinners to member education to fundraising events. A full schedule of events that are designed to appeal to a variety of members and opening some events to the general public will increase our visibility and increase the vitality of the organization.
• Continue to support local, non-profit programs and organizations, including WHS scholarships. This will continue to be an important role of the organization but there will be no single, high profile fundraiser this coming year. Instead, there will be smaller-scale fundraising efforts built into our other events throughout the year.
• Continue to enhance our website. We will work to make our Web site the first people visit when looking for a product or service. 

As a member, you can help us reach these goals by:

• Adding a coupon or other offer to the website. These offers can be for members or for the general public.
• Prominently display your WBA decal and encourage customers to look to other WBA members for products and services.
• Make referrals to fellow members whenever possible.
• Take part in WBA events and activities and become actively involved with the organization.
• Get to know other WBA members better so you can make informed referrals – and so they can make informed referrals to you!
• Add a link to the WBA website to your email signature and highlight that you are a member business in correspondence and advertising.

I look to all members to get involved and be active in the WBA. All of us can make it a vibrant and strong organization that we can all benefit from and be proud of!  I appreciate the opportunity to serve as President of the WBA and I look forward to getting to know as many of you as possible during my tenure.

Michael Abend, President

The WBA is more than just a business group. It is part of the fiber of the Town. It is a strong, respected voice in the on-going dialog to define the future business and civic environment of Wayland and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.