Anniversary good time to review efforts

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An anniversary is an appropriate time to review pasty activities, judge past performance and achievements, and acknowledge the contributions of those involved.

It is also an appropriate time for celebration - if there are significant enough achievements to celebrate.

And sometimes, it is an appropriate time for transmission - to step across a threshold and face new level of challenges.

On its third anniversary, AMMSA has much to celebrate, and many new challenges ahead. They are detailed elsewhere in this issue.

In looking back over the past three years, we feel we can be justifiably proud of what we have accomplished.

Now that the results of our efforts are evident, the struggles we have had and the problems we have encountered and solved seem far less significant that they did when we were face to face with them.

The growth and development of an organization is an evolutionary process. Priorities change, unanticipated problems materialize, new opportunities appear which demand action, people leave and are replaced with others with new ideas.

Through it all, the mandate of the organization must be maintained, keeping in mind the changing perspective of the community it serves.

The past three years have been dynamic ones for the Native community, with significant changes brought about by new attitudes and activities. We have tried to

keep pace with them so that our efforts as the communications organization serving that community truly reflect what is happening in it.

One of our priorities has been to actively encourage the participation of the people and organizations we serve. Without that involvement and feedback, we have no way of knowing if we are meeting your needs. That participation can come in a number of ways:

- We need you to let us know what is happening in your community if we are to provide coverage of your activities;

- We need your letters and opinions to ensure that the wide range of views in the Native community are represented;

- We need your co-operation in responding to surveys and questionnaires, and to our more informal appeals for feedback when our people are out in the community.

Whatever credibility we have both inside and outside of the Native community, and whatever success we have had in providing an effective communications service, can be credited to the support, co-operation and feedback we have had. We appreciate that, and look forward to its continuation.

There are many people who can legitimately join with us in this third anniversary celebration because of the contribution they have made to our growth and success. They include board members and staff, both past and present, the funding agencies and their representatives for being helpful beyond the prescribed limits, the advertisers who have provided additional revenue to enable us to broaden our activities, the organizations and individuals who have been supportive in so many ways. We thank them.

We hope that we have been worthy of that support and encouragement and assistance, and look forward to continuing to prove your confidence in us is deserving in the years ahead.