June 2008, President’s Message

Thank you AMCA members for the honor and privilege of serving as your President.  It has been a remarkable experience.  When I took the oath of office last year in Prescott, I accepted the duties and responsibilities as President of this professional organization with pride, professionalism, and dedication.  I am extremely proud to have had the privilege to work with a very dedicated and professional Board and Committee Chairs.

Despite some challenges, it has been a very busy and rewarding year.  Between June 2007 and June 2008, the Board has participated in ten productive and fun meetings.  Four meetings were held via conference call, three meetings were held in conjunction with our Annual Meeting, Election Training, Institute and Academy, and three meetings were held at the Cracker Barrel in Casa Grande. 

We accomplished so much this year.  I am most proud of the three goals we established and achieved: (1) Develop an AMCA operating budget and identify potential new revenue sources  (2) Promote Clerk professionalism and (3) Develop a new member packet and provide to all new “full” members of AMCA.. 

In addition to achieving our goals we established a secondary scholarship fund to be used for alternative education opportunities.  We developed a new Secretary Nomination form, which outlines the duties and responsibilities of each Board member more clearly.  Your committees have also been very busy and productive:  Mentoring Committee (Region Leaders) developed and implemented a welcome packet for new clerks.  Legislative Committee implemented a conference call process to track legislative issues and participation was available to all clerks.  Education Committee planned some wonderful sessions for the Academy and Institute as well as our quickly approaching Region Conference.  They also began the process of investigating “On the Road Workshops” and will continue that endeavor over the next year.  Election Certification Committee reviewed the Election test and made some appropriate changes and has a great program planned for July.  Membership Committee worked very hard this year on the membership drive going as far as inviting other agencies to join our association.  Awards Committee has collected years of service, retirement, and committee participation information and has prepared beautiful certificates for distribution at our annual meeting in September.  Scholarship Committee developed a wonderful cookbook, “Clerks Cook Too”, which has generated some additional revenue for the association.   Communications Committee developed two very nice, professional looking brochures:  “Welcome to AMCA” and “What is a Municipal Clerk?” to educate our Mayor, Council members, our peer’s and our citizens.   And, as I write this the Audit Committee is busy ensuring that all financial transactions are in order.

These are all momentous strides in helping our organization, and we have been successful thanks to the many members who serve on the Board, Chair Committees, and those members who volunteer to work on the committees.  Nothing would have been accomplished if it weren’t for these hard working individuals.  We all owe them a round of applause!

For those of you who have never had the privilege to actively become a part of this wonderful organization and who want to make a positive change, I strongly encourage you to consider running for Secretary sometime in the future.  Being a Board member allows you the opportunity to work closely with many individuals who become good friends and the work will give you a wonderful sense of satisfaction.

The swearing in of new officers will take place on Tuesday, September 30, 2008, during the AMCA Annual Business Meeting in Tucson.  On June 27, 2008, the in-coming Board will take over responsibilities and I will step down as President and assume the role of Outgoing President.  Please join me in congratulating the new Board during this interim period.  I look forward to continuing to help make positive changes to our association.

I hope to see you all in Tucson for the Region VIII Annual Conference.  Have a safe and happy summer. 

Lynn