Welcome to a New WCA Year!

by Karen Aroian

Were your ears buzzing last Saturday, June 17? Our new Board of Directors met for its annual daylong retreat and spent plenty of it learning about you, our members – our organization’s best assets.

The big news we learned from our spring survey is that a whopping 97 percent of respondents joined to network, and WCA has the friendly culture to accommodate. Let me fill you in on a few of the projects and initiatives happening this year. If you can lend a hand with them, contact volunteers@wcaustin.org. Thanks!

1. Get Smart
2. Banner & Find Your Five
3. Programming & Philanthropy
4. Career Services
5. Sponsorship & Membership
6. June Board Retreat

1. Get Smart

Early plans for our fall professional development conference are taking shape. The half-day event will be held all afternoon, Friday, October 27, at the Westin Downtown. Early registration opens Saturday, July 1. Curious about our theme and the speakers we’re looking for? Now’s the time to volunteer.

2. Banner & Find Your Five

Plans are underway for our 45^th Banner Brunch. 2018 also marks WCA’s fifth year of independence as a professional association, and we want to recognize this milestone by weaving an ongoing Find Your Five (FY5) campaign throughout our year of events. Have a fun slice of WCA early history or a handful of photos to share?

3. Programming & Philanthropy

This year we make the shift from monthly meetings to an every-other-month @Lunch or @Night meeting. Watch for July WCA@Lunch announcements soon. We’ve also added a VP of Philanthropy position. The purpose of the committee is to research and share findings with us on ways we can expand our giving, in addition to awarding WCA’s 2018 student scholarships, that align with our mission, vision and core values.

4. Career Services

Career Services is a proud feature of WCA you don’t want to miss. If you’ve never met with a mentor, had your resume reviewed, explored our job bank, shared a tip on the Forum, attended Careers Over Coffee, maybe it’s time. Endeavor. In my mind, your joy and involvement is what sustains that spirit of generosity, connective culture and welcoming vibe we all cherish.

5. Sponsorship & Membership

We’ll be courting new sponsors so WCA can increase the value of your organizational experience. This summer, the membership team will be analyzing the data in our membership database, now a full year old.

6. Bylaws

Bylaws are in the process of being updated. We will have a few new policies and procedures created this summer. These best practices will be maintained as living documents in our permanent nonprofit archive.

7. June Board Retreat

Without a doubt, this year’s board is prepared to make good things happen. I believe the productivity of this board is, in part, a result of the succession planning the Executive Leadership decided to embrace early in 2017. While outgoing board members helped to transition their roles, the executive team connected repeatedly with incoming members, encouraging them to attend March/April board meetings, go on fact-finding missions and pursue early discussions on their own.

By the time we gathered for the June retreat, new VPs were giving ten-minute presentations on their roles and goals. The dedicated women on this year’s all-volunteer working board are honored to represent you. They are eager to connect with you to strengthen, inspire and expand WCA’s beloved community of communicators.

We all deserve to enjoy our memberships every year. Choose the amount that’s right for you. Then fill in your member profile, take a break from the virtual and join us. Your WCA friends and colleagues are waiting with arms wide open.

Happy summer,

Karen