President's Page

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Note: On Tuesday, September 20, 2022, Christine Hayes was installed as NYSAA’s president for 2022/2023. Below is her acceptance speech:

Welcome to Lake George, it’s great to be back here at the Fort William Henry. 

I would like to give a huge thank you to Tom Wysocki and the Fort William Henry staff, they have gone above and beyond to make this conference special. 

I am honored to have the opportunity to be the 78th President of the New York State Assessors Association. 

I’m not really one to talk about myself, so instead, I’d like to recognize those that have guided me along the way.

Paul Maniacek

Paul was the Horicon assessor for many years along with several towns in Warren and Washington County, real property director, and tax mapper. Paul’s vast experience, knowledge, and extreme patience allowed me to learn from the best, and the voodoo doll still comes in handy sometimes. Thank you.

Teri Ross

Teri needs no introduction to this group, Queensbury assessor and NYSAA Past President #72. 

What would we do without you, what would I do without you. 

After working in Horicon for about a year. New York State upgraded from V3 to V4. Teri, working in Real Property at that time, set up a day that she would come up to Brant Lake to train me. That day was 9/11. 

While everyone else was watching the World Trade Center collapse, we spent the day working on V4. Talk about dedication. Teri’s always been there for me.

Dave Rosebrook 

Dave was the assessor in Bolton and Lake George for several years. Thank you for believing that I could step into your shoes; your support and friendship has been invaluable, we certainly do miss you and your stories.

Lori Barber Lake George assessor, my left-handed sidekick. Thank you for being my sounding board and calming influence. 

Town of Horicon Supervisor Mike Geraci

Assemblyman and Former Supervisor Matt Simpson

Former Supervisor Sylvia Smith

And co-workers

Thank you for continued support throughout the years, it is a pleasure to work with all of you. 

Town of Bolton Supervisor Ron Conover

Board Member Penny Cleveland

My Clerk Deb MacEwan

And co-workers

We did a reval for 2020 and you trusted me throughout the process. I can’t thank you enough. 

Warren County Assessors Association, past and present members

We are a tight group. These are the people responsible for raising the money needed for the cruise yesterday, the glasses on the tables, along with so much more that you are experiencing tonight. Warren County Assessors Association was presented with the Outstanding Assessors Association award yesterday. Thank you for all you have done to make this conference extra special for all of us.

My mom and two of my sisters are here tonight.

Thank you, it means a lot to me.

Most importantlyI want to introduce and thank my daughter Karen and her husband Patrick. Karen was 10 years old when I took the assessor clerk job in Horicon. She’s my reason for being.

When I was asked what my speech would be about, I said I didn’t know, but I did know that I wanted to talk to my friends. I remember coming to these conferences and dinners, sitting in the back, not talking to anyone, not introducing myself, going back to my room, and not participating in the “fun” stuff we do.

I want to talk to that person that may be sitting in the back tonight, feeling the way I felt back then. I want you to get to know who we are, and we would like to know you. 

We are the NYSAA Executive Board, we get to dress up, all fancy like and sit up here.

The Executive Board oversees this entire NYSAA organization. Each one of these dedicated people chair a committee or two. Our committees include Legislative, Technology, Education, Awards, Membership, Public Relations, Ethics, and several others. We are under the guidance and expertise of Warren Wheeler, Executive Director; Tracy Carman, Communications Director; and Laverne Tennenberg, Treasurer. I’m looking forward to working with this board, and continuing NYSAA on the path into the future. 

But we don’t do it alone.

Under the umbrella of the Executive Board are two other boards. 

IAO Board of Trustees: The IAO Board of Trustees provide your educational programs: certification classes, one-days, Cornell Seminar, and the classes you are taking this week. I’m looking forward to working with all of you this year to bring quality education to our members. 

The third essential part of the team is the Way-Costello Memorial Educational Fund. Their primary focus is to help cover the costs associated with your education. If you have received a scholarship, these are the people that provided that. Thank you goes out to Jimmy Molinaro for the work he did this year to get our vendors. 

These may be the members of the three boards that make up Team NYSAA, but there are many other people that do very important work for this organization.  If you are a member of a NYSAA committee or a past president, we thank you.  We appreciate all you do for Team NYSAA. Thank you to Lloyd Tasch for maintaining our Facebook page. 

Now that I’ve introduced all of the people that contribute to TEAM NYSAA on a day-to-day basis. 

Why do we do this? What drives us? 

The answer is all of you we do this for you our members.

If you are a member of this association, would you please stand. Now, look around, this is who we are here for. 

This is why our organization exists. 

OUR MEMBERS.

My promise to you, the members, is to continue the path started by many presidents and Executive Boards, before me, 

TO SERVE YOU

What can we do to better meet your needs?

How do we get you the education you need to do your job?

How do we elevate our profession?

How do we increase our presence at the state level and legislatively? 

How do we maintain the respect and trust from our town leaders and most importantly the taxpayers?

Paraphrasing the words of Queen Elizabeth II: “Institutions must continue to evolve, if they are to provide effective beacons of trust and unity to succeeding generations.” Our institution is evolving and will need to keep evolving.

For those of you who know me well, I have one speed, mainly when I’ve caffeinated. Grab a cup of coffee and let’s make this year all about you, our members. Thank you.