To Friends of EconomicsPennsylvania:
"Your rear view mirror is smaller than your windshield for a reason. You're supposed to look forward ... not back."
Let's face it ... annual reports, for the most part, are largely boring. We spotlight highlights of the previous year; celebrate successes and goals met, and try to slip slide past less than glorious moments with the hope those are few and of no serious consequence. And so, with this, our 2010/11 Annual Report we present our record of accountability and share our justification for occupying a very significant amount of "community shelf space."
If "55" is the accepted and agreed upon legal speed limit -- then, for all intents and purposes, we exceeded that number by a considerable degree and a quick glance in our symbolic rear view mirror shows no one gaining on us so we'll continue in fast forward motion. This past fiscal year, in spite of severe financial challenges of which we weren't the only to endure, our creative thinking, prudent judgments and a carefully crafted strategic plan of alternative action steps paved the way for:
1. a continued increase in our program delivery services for Pennsylvania teachers and students
2. introduction of another new curriculum: "The Economics of Alternative Energy"
3. implementation of our PA EconChallengeOnline -- online
4. broadened our base of involved volunteers on the State and Regional Board levels
5. involved 88,600 students in direct classroom EconomicsPennsylvania sponsored initiatives
6. received Chesapeake Bay Commission grant to place "Economics and the Environment" online
While there were numerous other achievements along the way ... those six spotlight the impact we have throughout the Commonwealth in terms of meeting and fulfilling our mission and vision: "... to ensure that every young person in Pennsylvania understands essential economic and financial literacy concepts, benefits by using economic ways of thinking and problem solving skills, and has a continuous understanding of the nature and structure of the global economy and its relationship to individual liberty and freedom."
If there is a dark cloud or shadow reflected in our rear view mirror it is our seeming inability to stabilize our
unrestrictedcash flow. We do very well attracting adequate revenue for program activities but our challenge to generate funds for operations and non-program related necessities remains, frankly, a problem. Our Chairman, Warren V. (Pete) Musser, has repeatedly commented that he knows of no other organization that does as much as we do, accomplishes the results we do and experiences the successes we do --- with so little. And that is the speed bump we encounter constantly as we pursue our lofty above average stretch goals in the pursuit of "setting our speed higher than we can reach" and then actually passing that objective. Unrestricted cash flow: that is our annoying detour in the road and one that needs, now, to be paved and made smooth.
Nevertheless, by any measurement standard, 2010/11 was a very good year. We saw our obligations and
responsibilities, we accepted our reduced speed warnings and sought alternative routes to opportunities,
reasonable areas of expansion and growth and with a renewed, invigorated and mutually respectful partnership between our donors, volunteers, dedicated teachers and, yes, the kids -- we continued to move onward and
upward.
All in all, not bad. Not bad at all.
Warren V. (Pete) Musser Fritz M. Heinemann
Chairman, The Musser Group President and CEO
Volunteer Chairman, EconomicsPennsylvania EconomicsPennsylvania
