Greetings!

It is my pleasure to introduce Cathy Kanter to you this month. Cathy holds the office of Immediate Past President of UBPN and as such, she serves on our Executive Committee. Cathy's influence and impact on UBPN began when UBPN was only a dream. I remember a phone call I received in late 1998 from Cathy, asking if I could come to Denver for a meeting with a group of people interested in forming a national organization dedicated to brachial plexus injury issues. She had a vision that she wanted to share with us.

Using her skills as a negotiator and mediator (Cathy has a Master of Arts degree in dispute resolution from Pepperdine University School of Law), Cathy led us through a process of envisioning exactly what such an organization might become. We then worked through the arduous process of writing bylaws and forming an official 501c3 charity.

Cathy has many gifts and talents and one of her abiding passions has been for Camp UBPN. She has served as UBPN's program chair for InterACTION, which directs and plans UBPN's biennial camp and with her husband, Elliott, has donated funds to begin an endowment that will provide for deserving families to come to camp in the future.

Cathy continues to work for UBPN in her role as Immediate Past President, but hopes to transition to a point where she is no longer directly involved in the running of the organization. She sees this as a natural and healthy growth, both personally and professionally, and believes that a persistent long term focus on bpi activities is not always the best for one's family. Cathy feels that moving on is a necessary aspect of the healing process. As part of this process, she is working on an article for a future issue of Outreach that will expand upon these thoughts.

Thanks Cathy for all you have done!

I mentioned in my last President's Corner that we were working on a possible program to be aired on PBS TV stations. I can now share some more information with you.

UBPN, along with production company, TriVue Entertainment, will produce a 5-minute documentary to be presented on National Public Television's Spotlight On program. The segment will focus on awareness of Brachial Plexus injuries, its causes and treatment options.

Spotlight On airs exclusively on Public Television, which has nearly two times the coverage of CNN and The Discovery Channel. The program has a successful 15-year relationship with Public Television and reaches millions of viewers nationwide.

TriVue Entertainment has agreed to produce the brachial plexus injury segment at a greatly reduced cost, thanks to the efforts of a mother of a child with a brachial plexus injury who has worked for the company for more than 10 years. The total cost of production and distribution via satellite will be $10,000. The estimated value of the program and its airings is more than $45,000. UBPN plans to finance the cost of the project through fundraising efforts over the next six months.

In addition to the airing of the program on PBS stations, UBPN will have the opportunity to purchase additional copies of the program on DVD and CD-ROM to sell to members of the brachial plexus community and to distribute to legislators, media and other outlets.

We are now working with a foundation that is interested in providing matching funds and we hope to bring you more specifics next month and how you can join us in this effort.

Best wishes,

Nancy Birk, President
UBPN, Inc.