|
|
Greetings
from the President...
by Teresa Herrera
Summer is in her prime! Summer is a great time of year (well, all the different seasons bring there own gifts...). What I like about summer is that the weather tends to get us outdoors, it gets us out to see friends, and it takes us from our "normal" mode of life by being the primary time for vacations. And, at the same time, it's a mellow time of year. Mellow because nature is maturing after the burst of new growth in spring, many people are taking time out from their everyday life to take vacations, and the streets and highways are much less crowded as many people are off work!
Life in the Bay Section is also seemingly mellow. This is the time of year that we slow the Section's outward activities, realizing that many people are away on vacations and grand adventures. At the same time, there is much preparation happening, much gearing up for future activities that are important in the Section.
For one, our annual awards program will be beginning this month. Award packets are available from CWEA on August 1. Your Bay Section Awards Committee is working hard to ensure this year's program is a success. Please look for information on our awards program on our website and in future newsletters.
Another big activity that your Board will be participating in is a mid-year strategic planning workshop. We're going to take two days to meet and strategize about where the Section is now and where we want to be in the future. This will be an intensive two days and I am really looking forward to it. It is the first time for this sort of dedicated strategic planning and I think it's a long time in coming. There are many issues that are affecting the Bay Section, both from internal sources and externally from CWEA. There are big changes afoot that will affect the Section and this will ensure that we're well prepared to integrate them. This workshop will be held on August 9 and 10th. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions that would fit into a strategic planning venue, please feel free to call me.
I recently attended a Northern Regional Committee meeting. Remember that the Bay Section is part of the larger Northern Region, made up of ten local sections. This is the primary vehicle for information transfer between the local sections and the CWEA Board. Since there are big changes occurring at the state level, I feel it's critical that Bay Section representatives attend these meetings and make our voices heard (they're probably really tired of hearing my voice!).
Part of this meeting was a synopsis of decisions that the CWEA Board has made or are in the process of considering. Those that affect Bay Section members are:
-
Reviewing Subscriber status for membership. You may or may not know that, since 1961, Local Section members have been required to be CWEA members. There is a provision for Subscriber status, which means non-CWEA members can be local section subscriber members. Subscriber status should only allow for receipt of local section publications. Most local sections (ours included) treat member and non-member subscribers the same way and provide them with all the benefits of Local Section membership. The CWEA Board is considering 1) requiring the Local Sections comply with the 41-year old policy or 2) eliminating the subscriber status, which would mean that to be a Bay Section member, you would also need to be a CWEA member.
-
Eliminating the paper directory. An on-line directory is on the CWEA website and is available to members in a members-only section. The CWEA Board has approved this.
-
There will be only one more paper Bulletin (the October 2001 issue). A new electronic bulletin will be published every 6-8 weeks. Local Section news will now be posted on the Local Sections area of the CWEA website. The CWEA Board has approved this.
-
The CWEA Board is considering asking Local Sections to pay a fee for services provided by CWEA. Services include Local Section awards, insurance, tax and legal support, and web hosting.
-
The CWEA Board is also considering whether to continue to offer Northern Regional Training and Safety Conferences or to change to one-day Specialty Conferences as an alternative.
As you can see, these are all big changes and important to you, the membership of CWEA and the Bay Section. The driving force for many of these changes is that the CWEA's budget projections have shown that there are diminishing reserves and there will be a deficit in the budget by FY03-04 if no changes to operating practices are made. There has been a tightening of the belt in many places of the organization, but more radical changes need to be made.
Please give me any input you may have as the CWEA is seeking comments from Local Sections. These items have been discussed by the Bay Section Board and will continue to be discussed. We need to ensure the CWEA Board knows how our membership feels about these topics.
As always, I can be contacted at Whitley Burchett & Associates, 925-945-6850 or
therrera@whitleyburchett.com.
One more important item! Make your reservations for this month's dinner
meeting, August 2. I mentioned last month that there would be a social event in lieu of a dinner meeting. Well, I lied. There will be a dinner meeting which will include a tour of Delta Diablo's new recycled water facility and dinner at Humphrey's in Antioch.
I know this is long-winded letter and I also know that important things are happening that you, our members, need to know about. So, I'll close by saying that these are exciting times and I'm delighted to be in a leadership position to ensure that the San Francisco Bay Section remains the model of strength, vitality, and commitment that it has always been. Take good care, be safe, and enjoy your summer!
Back
to Top
|
