Member Benefits Update

By IVAN SINDELL

Martha Buyer Appointed New STC Regulatory Resource

The STC Board of Directors and the Law Offices of Thomas K. Crowe have mutually agreed to end our current relationship. Under the standing arrangement, Tom’s firm, serving as the STC’s Regulatory Attorney, had been providing regulatory advice and services as part of your STC membership. Instead, the STC Board is establishing the new position of STC Regulatory Resource.

Under the redesigned arrangement, STC consultant and current board member Martha Buyer will serve as the STC Regulatory Resource and provide the following services to the STC membership:

¨ A regulatory update session at each STC conference covering issues of importance to STC members and their clients.

¨ Timely legal alerts for distribution to the STC membership as circumstances warrant.

¨ A column on current legal developments for each issue of the STC Lines newsletter.

¨ Individual consultation time to STC members with legal questions and/or issues. 

     Martha has been the STC corporate attorney, an uncompensated position, for three years. She has an M.S. in Telecommunications, and worked first as a network designer and then, upon completing law school, as an attorney representing telecommunications end users. She also writes frequently on issues in telecommunications law.

      The new position also will not be compensated, aside from some expense reimbursement related to the conference participation requirement.

      In the notification letter, the STC Board expressed its appreciation for the 14-year relationship that has existed between the STC and Tom Crowe’s firm. It also indicated that Tom expressed his pleasure at having been able to serve the STC and its members over the years.

      The letter also indicated that STC members require access to a regulatory resource as part of their STC membership. This revised benefit of STC membership will retain that important function while allowing the organization to operate more efficiently.

Discounted Membership in The Soundview Club, with Reciprocal Privileges

      Located in Stamford, Connecticut, The Soundview Club offers private dining, business and networking opportunities for its members, as well as a “well-connected” concierge service, for whom golfing or dining arrangements in San Francisco, London or Paris are a matter of routine.

      Through the efforts of former STC President Steve Leaden, STC members are eligible for membership in this exclusive club, with extended privileges to over 225 reciprocal private clubs in the U.S., Europe and Asia. STC members should access the Club’s website, at www.thesoundviewclub.com for more details about the group.

      The membership offer for STC members involves waiving the normal $750 initiation fee and reducing the monthly membership fee from $145 to $75.

      This Club is especially well known for its affiliation with dozens of private golf courses throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. Membership privileges offered by the Club include tee time reservations at these facilities, as well as access to the course, driving range, golf carts, pro shop, golf lessons and clubhouse dining.  Members are also permitted to arrange for a foursome of clients and friends who are non-members.

       Use of all other amenities at reciprocal clubs, including meeting rooms, overnight accommodations, tennis courts, health clubs, spas and berths at yacht clubs, will be available for STC members under this arrangement. Other services also available:  limousine services for guests, theater ticket discounts, hotel discounts, and low-cost meeting space and audiovisual equipment. Steve Leaden reports that for him the membership has been especially valuable as a source of low-cost meeting space with clients away from his office.

       Members interested in inquiring further about this benefit should contact the STC’s Cathy Cimaglia.