When the going gets tough ...(commentary)

What a summer we had! The stock market charts looked like silhouettes of mountain ranges, the price of gasoline seemed to move upwards at least twice a day and a nasty string of storms churned through the Atlantic. We're all still feeling the pressure and tension, whether it's at home or at work. What a challenge!

So, my question to all of you is, "How can NACM help you face the challenge of today's business climate?" After all, that's what we're all about--locally, nationally and internationally.

Employee turnover is an issue all companies face. Providing new employees with the knowledge to perform well is a never-ending challenge. In today's business environment, everyone has to have a diversified expertise. As luck would have it, NACM can help. Whether it's providing new staff with a comprehensive base of credit knowledge or drilling down into a specific topic like collections, financial analysis, credit law, negotiations or escheatment, NACM can help. Whether you need access to education locally, regionally, nationally or internationally, NACM can help. Through NACM's aggressive line-up of educational offerings--seminars, conferences, online courses, webinars, self-study or audio conference calls--NACM can help.

NACM's international association, FCIB, continues to offer cutting edge, state-of-the art educational offerings. If you need to learn about international credit, exporting, or foreign currency exchange, FCIB has an online course that will fit your needs.

The challenge always seems to be the same: getting your company to support your education. As with all tough challenges, one of the winning strategies is to build an airtight case to support your company's investment in you and your staff. Companies depend--and need--a well-informed, well-educated, skilled workforce. Promote your need to learn; promote the benefit and results that more education will yield to your company.

If you're serious about education and your company simply refuses to help, the NACM Scholarship Foundation can remove some of the financial barriers. The NACM Scholarship Foundation is now accepting applications; look for the ad within this issue. Many local NACM Affiliates and CFDD offer educational scholarships as well.

And it's not only ...