"Geneva works closely with all of the people that she's involved with in an organization," says Julia Gregory, a CCA vice president. "She's been associated with the CCA for a long time and has a good relationship with many CCA members both past and present and an extraordinarily wide network of associates across the city."

City Councillor Francis H. Duehay '55 calls Malenfant "the most experienced person who has ever assumed the presidency of the CCA."

"If anyone can bring some revitalization that is needed, she's the person that can do it," Duehay says. "During my conversations with her, I continually learn things."

Malenfant says she may succeed simply because she is not "exhausted." The new president says part of the organization's apparent decline may be attributed to the hard work the CCA spent working to save rent control after the passage of Question Nine.

"The whole effort in Cambridge to defeat Question Nine took a lot of energy and zapped a lot of people's strength," she says. "I think people were just done in by all of that energy expenditure."

Reorganization

With a new leader at the helm, the CCA then set about revising its organizational structure, Malenfant says.

The number of vice presidents was decreased from nine to two, and JoAnn Hoffman was appointed as interim executive director.

"We have a functional kind of arrangement," Malenfant says. "We're having an extremely good turnout at our board meetings."

Malenfant says she hopes to switch the power base of the CCA from its executive board to its working committees.

Interest among the CCA membership in committees is high, says John W. Gintell, the organization's treasurer.

"Last [week], we had the first meeting of our newly-formed educational committee," he says. "What was really exciting is that we had a bunch of people who were interested on a very warm night."

The CCA president says she has tried to attend every committee meeting to date in order to gauge the interests of the organization's members.

"It's good to know people," Malenfant says. "I always sort of learn something."

In addition, the CCA plans to go "on-line," Gintell says.