By Mark H. Smith, Founder, Mark H. Smith, Inc.
A personal note from Mark Smith:
I am pleased to announce the advancement of Cynthia R. Walker to the position of Chief Executive Officer of Mark H. Smith, Inc. Cynthia has been an integral part of the ongoing growth and success of our firm. She has been associated with Mark H. Smith Inc. in various roles for almost 30 years. During the past 10 years, she has filled the responsibilities as the Manager of Operations and most recently as Chief Operating Officer of the firm. Cynthia’s appointment was effective as of January 1st, 2015.
We have made this organizational change to ensure the integrity of our business continuation plan. That plan has as its objectives:
- Provide a continuation of the high-quality service to our present and future clients for which we have become known over the last three decades;
- Provide career stability and a career path for our current and future employees; and
- Provide for a smooth transition of ownership, if necessary, for the owners of Mark H. Smith Inc. All small businesses must face the issue of the passing or retirement of the founder. While I don’t plan to participate in either of these events in the foreseeable future we do have a contingency plan in place.
This frees me up to get back on the road. In recent years I have focused on the client acquisition and development areas of the business. I enjoy presenting webinars, seminars and traveling the country meeting and training our valued clients. I also spend a great deal of time in the pursuit of new clients. In our next issue of the newsletter you will see an announcement of a new live seminar that we will present in over 20 cities in the summer and fall of this year. I will be attending and presenting at each of those events. I will also be working with various credit union leagues in the education and training areas. I also make myself available to provide onsite training for our clients.
Many years ago I made the decision to focus our effort to serve the credit union community. A big part of that decision was the fact that I found the people in the credit union community to be great to work with. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The result has been three decades of service to people that I consider to be among the best on the earth. Please accept my appreciation for this 32 year old relationship and a renewal of my commitment to continue to serve you.