1 January 1979
Last year an International Council was formed for supervising the work of the International Communication Office. The International Council has already met on two occasions. As a result, several changes have been made in the organization of the office. In the following letter, Ralph Martin, Director of the office for five years and current Chairman of the International Council, describes these changes in greater detail.
Dear fellow workers in the Lord,
As you know, this past year has been something of a year of change for the International Communication Office. The most significant change has been the establishment of an International Council which now has the responsibility for overseeing all the affairs of the International Communication Office. The Council had its first meeting in June in Dublin and its second meeting in December in the Virgin Islands. At these meetings we made a number of decisions that we would like to communicate you. It was decided at this time that Fr. Tom Forrest, C.Ss.R., recently of Puerto Rico, would be taking over as director of the International Communication Office. I have been asked to be relieved of this service so that I can spend more time just in seeking the Lord. I have been asked to continue to serve as chairman of the International Council, at least in its early stages, until it is well established. I have agreed to do so. So as of now, much of the correspondence which has been coming to me as director of the International Communication Office should go to Fr. Forrest who will be handling the day-to-day affairs of the office and overseeing its services. I will continue to be involved in the work of the office in my capacity as member of the Council and currently as its chairman.
It has certainly been a privilege to serve as the director of the office in its first five years of existence and I feel very good about Fr. Tom as the right man to take over at this time. I think he is very well prepared for this position and will be doing and excellent job.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for the support and prayers that you have offered over these past years. And I would like to ask that you continue to support Fr. Tom in his new position.
You brother in Christ,
Ralph Martin
Taken from the ICO Newsletter, January-February 1979
