AHRA Education Foundation Update

By Maureen R. Firth, MS, CRA

March 2011–The Weather Channel recently stated that snow was found in every state except Florida for all 31 days of January. Now that is some kind of record. And February wasn’t far behind. But just think, in a few short months, we’ll be nice and warm just outside of Dallas at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, TX, the site of our 2011 Annual Meeting.

Last year’s Annual Meeting, in our nation’s capitol, was a huge success for the AHRA Education Foundation. To get revved up for Texas, let’s review what the EF had to report from DC.

Our Members Following up on the success of the 2009 inaugural Get Pinned program, the 2010 Get Pinned Too program was a rousing success. We raised over $9000 prior to the Annual Meeting from more than 160 members, with an average member gift of $54. This amount represents an average increase of 26% per gift over the previous year. At year end 2010, we received individual gifts of $13,103 and pledges of $435, which brought our Annual Member Drive total to $13,538.

Way to go, members! Wait until you see what we have cooking for 2011. Hope we “whet your appetite.”

Our Corporate Sponsors
Our corporate sponsors continue to support the EF, our programs, and the annual meeting. At the 2009 Annual Meeting, our corporate gifts totaled $35,000 and pledges totaled $250,000, bringing the total to $335,000, representing an increase of 44% over the previous year. At year end 2010, we received corporate gifts totaling $95,000 and corporate pledges totaling $250,000, for a grand total of $345,000.

Thank you to all our corporate sponsors. We look forward to our continued partnerships!

Scholarship Programs
At last year’s meeting, 10 people were able to attend through the AHRA Annual Meeting Scholarship program. Three people received Osborn Scholarships (through the EF) to attend. Click here to view AHRA’s 2011 calendar for all scholarship deadlines and program details.

Volunteers
Thank you to all our wonderful EF volunteers who give themselves through their time and resources. AHRA would not be as strong as it is without your support and commitment. We also send out a special thank you to our corporate sponsors for their commitment to the EF and the programs they help partner and fund. Click here for current volunteer opportunities. Who knows, you might not like it—you might love it!

We look forward to a banner year in 2011 through your help and donations. Check out the Education Foundation tab on the AHRA website where you can find all the answers to your questions about the EF! Click here to make a donation.

I look forward to seeing you in Boston for the Spring Conference or Texas in the summer—or both!

Maureen Firth, CRA, MS is Chair of the 2011 AHRA Education Foundation Board of Directors. She works as the assistant director of radiology and imaging at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. She can be reached at firthm@hss.edu.