Greetings Brothers and Sisters:  There have been significant changes in the leadership at the union hall in the last couple of weeks. On March 10, 2008 Milton McBreairty called for an emergency meeting of the Executive board to present to the Financial Secretary a letter declaring he was retiring as Business Manager from the local union effective immediately. He then left the meeting. Union president Al Shephard instructed the board on their duties as defined by the constitution pertaining to appointing replacements for vacated constitutional offices. The two members of the E Board (myself included) that were being considered to fill the position left the room and the members of the board began their deliberations. The final vote left me with the appointment as interim Business Manager till the end of the current term and I was sworn in and began assuming those responsibilities immediately. The normal election cycle remains intact and in May there will be a notified meeting to hold nominations for all of the constitutional offices including Business Manager.My appointment has opened up a seat on the pension committee. Jeff Baillargeon was appointed to fill that vacancy by Al after he and I had consulted and interviewed a couple of prospective trustees. I feel Jeff will bring a fresh and innovative perspective to the committee and I welcome him aboard. According to the IBEW constitution, the Business Manager will be seated on all trust committees. I will now serve on the Health and Welfare, JATC, LMCC and negotiations committee. There will be no changes in my current staff. Kim and Sara are here just as they were prior to my appointment. Al has been considering a move, but I remain hopeful that he will decide to stay on as organizer. Don Berry continues as training director.   Our local union and the trustees of our benefit plans are encountering some significant challenges right now. I assure you that we at the hall are up for those challenges and are using all of the resources available to us to resolve these issues.  I believe the changes in leadership have been implemented with virtually no direct impact on the vast majority of our members or the day to day operations of local 567. It is my desire to provide our members with the highest level of service and representation attainable under the terms of our union documents while serving in this position. Please feel free to contact me at the union hall with any questions or concerns.  Fraternally;   Richard Deering  Business Manager IBEW Local 567