Kathy: I think and some of this is my own feeling is not that Mary Grace does not listen to the affiliates it is that the affiliates do not feel corresponed with... I felt this when I lived in the south...I didn't even know that there was a letter from the us delegate that went out regularily...and yes the problem is many factoral...the letter the us delegate generates needs to be deseminated..if the rep she sends to doesn't we can not blame her,,,but if we don;t know that it exists..... so much boils down to communication.... maybe the us delegate and board should let the membership know of the communication that is deseminated and how, then when members feel left out they will know how to search the linkage .... patricia