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WASHINGTON
MUNICIPAL CLERKS ASSOCIATION
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
MONTHLY REPORT
FEBRUARY 2008
By Irene Mock, Board
Member
WELCOME!
Let's give a big WMCA
Welcome to Tara Jeter, the new City Clerk
for the City of Roy. Welcome to the group Tara!
CAN
YOU BELIEVE IT?
2008 CONFERENCE IS JUST A MONTH AWAY!
The program is set,
the speakers are ready, meals have been selected, auction items are
rolling in, as are the vendors & sponsors and the decorations have
arrived. The only thing left to do is register and join us for a fun,
educational conference.
Don't forget the
deadline for early registration for the conference is February 15. You
can go online to register today at www.wmcaclerks.org.
To get the government
per diem rates of $70 single and $90 double, the deadline for your hotel
room reservation is February 17. You can make your hotel reservations
by calling 1-877-964-1234 or call the hotel directly at 509-662-1234.
The Planning Committee
would like to remind everyone that it is still chilly in March. As we
have to walk across a breezeway which is covered, but open on the sides
from the hotel to the center, you may want to bring along a jacket to
guard against the cold.
Two
(2) CMC “Experience” or one (1) MMC “Social/Professional” points can be
earned by attending the conference sessions. To obtain your
“Certificate of Completion” they must be picked-up by the certificate
holder at the conclusion of the Key Note session “Striving for
Imprefection” on Friday, March 21. Certificates will not be mailed.
Important information regarding the conference can be found on the
website at:
http://www.wmcaclerks.org/2008%20Conference/2008%20PRE-CONFERENCE%20INFORMATION.1.pdf
Please take a moment
to complete the questionnaire at:
www.cottqmarcus.com/WMCA to help our speaker
Scott Marcus tailor the ½ day “Striving for Imprefection”
session to WMCA!
FIRST TIME
CONFERENCE ATTENDEES WELCOMING
Do you remember your
first conference? Walking into a room of 150 people, not knowing
anyone, worrying that you may not "fit" in. Remember what it felt like
to ask a total stranger if there is room for one more person at their
table? I remember what it was like, so I'd like to take this moment to
remind everyone to reach out to first-time attendees. Ask someone you
don't know to sit at your table and join the fun. Show the new clerks
that WMCA is one of the best organizations around. Help make them feel
welcome, even if it's just to shake their hand, welcoming them into the
fold, letting them know that we really are here to help each other.
STILL
WANTED: MAJOR SPONSORS and VENDORS
Although as of this
moment we have two diamond and one platinum sponsor, the Planning
Committee is continuing to seek potential vendors and sponsors for the
2008 Conference. For vendor booths, please email Virginia Olsen at
VOlsen@ci.mlt.wa.us and for
donations/sponsorships, please email Gina Anderson at
andersong@ci.woodland.wa.us They will send out
the vendor/donation information packets and coordinate any follow-up
that is needed. The information can also be obtained by going online to
our WMCA website, which is listed under the 2008 annual conference
information.
DO
YOU HAVE ANY
SILENT & LIVE
AUCTION RAFFLE ITEMS?
Due to its huge
success last year, we are bringing back the Live Auction, with our very
own auctioneer Bob Baker!! Remember, we are still holding the Silent
Auction, any items you'd like to donate are welcome. Proceeds help fund
scholarships for members who might otherwise not be able to attend
conferences and other Professional Development Programs.
Major Raffle Update
We are continuing to sell the $1,500 gift
card raffle tickets. These will also be available at the conference.
Anyone wanting to sell tickets to their office or family before the
conference, contact either Margo Tackett at
clerk_treasurer@ci.westport.wa.us or Diane Foss at
dfoss@osgov.com
and we will get those to you.
Donations
Now is the time to begin, if you haven’t
already, soliciting donations for the silent and live auctions and the
$1.00 raffle. From the sounds of it, we will be having some great items
again this year. A list of several donated items will be included in
the conference book.
Clothing
We will have the catalog of garments available
to order at the conference. We need to have at least 25 items ordered
to keep the stitching cost down. This is through the Custom Shirt
Factory so if you would like to peruse their items, you can go on-line
and find out what they have available –
www.customshirtfactory.com.
We are doing this as a
fundraiser, so there will be an additional cost of $15 added to the cost
of the garment. The additional $15 is for the WMCA embroidery ($5),
shipping ($5) and WMCA Scholarship Fund ($5). No sales tax is added
because of our non-profit status.
Hopefully, some of you that purchased items last year will wear those
during the conference for others to see how nice they look. We look
forward to seeing everyone at the conference.
SCHOLARSHIP
APPLICATIONS
Members of the
Scholarship Committee would like to remind you that this year’s
Professional Development Institute
dates are:
Professional
Development I………………................JUNE 1—6
Professional
Development II………...……………....JUNE 8—13
Professional
Development III......................................JUNE 15—20
Master Academy
(Professional Development IV)....JUNE 11—14
The application
deadline for scholarships for Institute classes is February 15th.
First time Institute scholarship applicants are eligible for award of
both registration and lodging if needed. PD II and PD III scholarship
awards are for registration only. You can find more information about
scholarship awards and requirements at WMCA’s website.
As a reminder, the
Marge Price Scholarship is also available to clerks who are working
towards their MMC accreditation.
The Scholarship
Committee is always looking for new members, so if you’re a new clerk
(or experienced!) and want to join a fun relatively easy
committee, please feel free to contact Carol Etgen at
carol.etgen@ci.bremerton.wa.us or
360-473-5323.
BREAKING
NEWS:
The Association of
Washington Cities has a limited number of scholarships available to
clerks in small cities (population less than 5,000). There are
currently three scholarships left for $300 each, which can be used to
pay registration cost for the WMCA Conference. For more information, or
to apply, contact Karen Tanner at AWC,
karent@awcnet.org,
360-753-4137. These awards are based on need and the application
deadline is February 11. Karen also said she will be out of the office
Feb. 4-8, so contact her soon for details.
AWARDS COMMITTEE
The Awards Committee
is busily reviewing nominations for the prestigious Clerk of the Year
Award. Their recommendations will be given to President Bush by
mid-February for her final decision.
Only one of the
several nominations received will be selected for the coveted Clerk of
the Year Award, but all nominees will be informed of their nomination.
It’s quite an honor even to be nominated, and it’s important that our
members realize how much they’re respected and valued by their community
and WMCA.
The award(s) will be
announced at the Annual Banquet on Thursday, March 20 in Wenatchee.
WMCA 2009
CONFERENCE COMMITTEES
Don’t forget to think
about what committee you would like to sign up for at this year’s
conference. Each of you has wonderful talents that need to be shared!
Consider signing up for one or more of our 12 committees: Audit, Awards,
Bylaws, Communications, Conference Planning, Education, Elections,
Fundraising & Special Projects, Historical, Legislative, Membership, and
Scholarship.
For more information
about the committees see the descriptions on the
WMCA website.
Some of these committees work all year round while some are mostly busy
around conference time. Sign up sheets will be at the annual conference
in Wenatchee or you can contact President-Elect
Ali Spietz at
ali.spietz@mercergov.org
for more information.
HISTORICAL
COMMITTEE UPDATE
The Historical
Committee is working very hard on scrap booking the 2007 WMCA Conference
Events. Remember to take a moment to look at WMCA's history at the
upcoming 2008 Conference. The Committee will also be taking group
photos of WMCA Regional Associations, VIPs, WMCA Executive Committee
(incoming & outgoing), and WMCA Committee Chairs following the Annual
Banquet, so please stay for the photo session.
BYLAWS
COMMITTEE UPDATE
The Bylaws Committee
and the Elections Committee have prepared Pro/Con Statements about the
proposed Bylaws amendment changes regarding consecutive term limits for
Board Member positions. The Bylaws Amendment and the Pro/Con Statements
will be submitted to the membership prior to the vote at the Annual
Business meeting on March 20.
LEGISLATIVE
COMMITTEE
The Legislative
Committee will be communicating over the coming days as legislative
bills become known, and ongoing throughout the Session, which commenced
on January 14. The committee will plan to raise any major issues to
the Executive Committee and full membership, as necessary, to enlist
support for helpful legislation or opposition to harmful legislation on
behalf of WMCA.
ELECTIONS
COMMITTEE
The Elections
Committee received declarations of candidacy and recommended a full
slate of candidates to the Executive Committee at their January 18
meeting. Ballot preparation and mailing is underway. Fully paid WMCA
voting members should look for the ballot packet to arrive during the
week of January 28. To be counted, ballots must be received by Woody
Edvalson in
Bonney
Lake no later than February
15. Happy voting!
Updated:
04/10/2009
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