By Casey Cook, FCCMA Executive Director
We’ve almost closed the book on July and boy has it been a hot one! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for the cooler weather that October and November bring. In the association world, summertime means lots of travel, either to conferences or to see members, and hopefully a vacation squeezed in somewhere. It is also a time of change.
As I’m sure most of you know, the FCCMA program year and the fiscal year are on two separate tracks. Our program year runs from annual conference to annual conference (usually June 1st – May 31st), while our fiscal year runs from October 1st – September 30th. Our program year begins in June when the new president is sworn in. Every president has their own priorities and an idea of how committees should be structured.
This year, President Green has consolidated many of the previously stand-alone committees into three main “Super” Committees.
- The Communications Committee, chaired by Sally Sherman, now handles legislative issues and professional management matters, while continuing to provide direction for all association communications.
- The Professional Development Committee, chaired by Ryan Leavengood, is now overseeing awards, scholarships, and student councils, while continuing to plan the fall symposium and monthly webinars hosted by the Center for Local Government Excellence.
- The Membership Committee, chaired by Micah Maxwell, now handles county outreach, diversity and inclusion, members in transition, and – you guessed it – membership.
These committees have hit the ground running and are working on several exciting things. Stay tuned for future updates on the work of these committees.
Like many of you, we are currently going through our budget process. Last Friday, the Executive Committee met in Lakeland at Florida Polytechnic University to discuss the preliminary version of the budget. At our meeting on August 17th, the Board of Directors will review and (hopefully) approve the budget. I think the officers have put together a budget that will enable us to continue providing quality programming at an affordable price. I also have a newfound respect for all of you that put together a budget each year!
I wish each of you luck as you finalize next year’s budget and hope that you get to enjoy a little time off before the summer ends. Stay cool out there.
