Saying good-bye to a legend and looking forward to an interesting year. It is a New Year here at SAR and I am looking forward to the year ahead with excitement. While filling President Erin Stumpf’s shoes will be nearly impossible, I am ready to roll up my sleeves and get it done. You can look forward to Our Clear Path Forward – my theme for this year. Basically, after a long hard look at our association, it seemed that what we need is more transparency with regards to what the association does and how it gets done. This year, it is my mission to make every one of our members aware of what the association does for them and how their dues dollars are spent. It is not my year, but our year and our association.
Another goal of mine is to create clear messaging about the volunteer opportunities at SAR and how to get involved in a meaningful way. I call this the Pathway’s Project. They say many hands make light work and this is true for the associations functioning as well. While we have a stellar Association Executive in Jessica Coates and a helpful staff, the work of putting on educational classes, social events and fund-raisers is tremendous and is done mostly by the volunteer committees. Every year we reach out to our membership to see who wants to lend a hand on a committee. More time will be spent this year in creating the pathways so that more people can get involved. Volunteering is fulfilling; it creates personal growth opportunities and develops leadership skills.
With the market shifting to a slower pace and interest rates looking more like a roller coaster of instability, what does this mean for our members? Now is the perfect time to pick up a new skill, brush up on some of your social media messaging or maybe get a certification. SAR has a wonderful catalogue of on demand courses and some live ones as well. Take advantage of what the association has to offer, meet some colleagues, and learn some new skills. This is a member benefit and what your dues dollars pays for. Isn’t it about time to see the newly renovated Mack Powell Event Center anyway? I look forward to seeing you at a meeting soon!
