Message from the President

First, I want to say how honored and humbled I am to have been elected as the 46th President of UCOWF. I want to thank the immediate past president, Andrew Petitt and other past presidents including Dawn Royal and Jack Heacock for all of their support and advice as I transition into my new role. 

One of my primary goals as President is to strengthen the bonds within our membership and foster an environment of collaboration and shared vision. I am committed to promoting transparency, open communication, and inclusivity. Together, we can build on the rich history of our organization and work towards a future that is marked by progress and success.

As we come off a very well run and successful 50th National Training Conference held in beautiful Virginia Beach, VA, we should take a few minutes to reflect on some of the accomplishments of the organization in the past year. 

First and probably foremost, thanks to members of the Intergovernmental Committee, Past President Dawn Royal testified in Washington D.C. before the U.S. House of Representatives on several of our priorities, including faster implementation of N.A.C. (the National Accuracy Clearing) project, higher monetary fraud collection retention rates for the states, and of course newer technology with a higher level of security for EBT cards. This was and is a real coup for UCOWF as it is the first time members of Congress have asked us to testify and have recognized us as subject matter experts in the area of welfare fraud. The Intergovernmental Committee followed this impressive feat up with several important interviews with various national news organizations. As your incoming president I fully support these efforts and look forward to the Intergovernmental Committee building on them during the coming year. 

Also during the past year the ad hoc Only Co. Committee entered into a major contract for not only building us a new and much more functional website but also for marketing and better positioning our organization and brand. This work included a complete redesign of our logo and insignia which was much needed and long overdue. With the intention of moving us forward, advancing our goals and increasing membership, the Only Co. Committee worked long hours and had many meetings designing and coming up with a viable strategy that should serve the organization for years to come.

Also this past year, both the Site Selection and Conference Committees both did outstanding jobs with the Conference Committee pulling off an extremely well run and organized 50th National Training Conference that was very educational and meaningful to the members. The site selection worked hard in identifying Las Vegas for next year's conference with both committees recognizing our expanding needs for bigger and better venues. We will keep these valuable lessons in mind as we move forward in planning larger and more effective conferences to better accommodate our members.

I am excited about the journey ahead and the positive impact we can collectively make. Your ideas, input, and support are invaluable as we embark on this united effort to defend the integrity of public assistance programs and ensure the responsible use of taxpayer dollars.

I look forward to working with each of you. Again, please visit our new website and we’ll look forward to hopefully seeing you in Las Vegas in August!    

Sincerely,

Carrol Christian   
President, The United Council on Welfare Fraud