How Can I Make a Difference?

One of the questions that the Executive Board is asked quite often is “What do I have to do to be Involved?” You are going to hear quite a bit over the next few months about the SWATA Governance Task Force as well as some of the changes that SWATA is looking to make to assure we continue to achieve our goals as an organization. One of the changes that SWATA has made over the past few years is the establishment of the SWATA Volunteer List. It is quite simple – if you want to be involved in SWATA, whether it be on a committee or a task force, you need to fill out the volunteer form on the SWATA web site. Once that name is submitted, you are added to a list of members who want to get plugged in to the organization. When a committee member is rotated off a committee because of term limits, the volunteer list is sent to that committee chair. The committee chair goes down the list, and based on interest and order of volunteering, makes contact with certain members to possibly add them to their committee. The final appointments are made by the SWATA President, but once added to the committee, that individual is put to work. We have had 92 people sign up for the volunteer list (15 since Corpus Christi) and we have currently placed 30 people on various committees.

Quite a few people have asked why they volunteered over a year ago and have not been asked to join a committee yet. One of the criteria committee chairs look over as they evaluate the list is whether the member put preferences on which committee they would like to serve or if they simply put “Any”. There is a good chance that the openings have been on committees that you have not expressed interest in when you initially volunteered.

This organization cannot survive and continue to grow without the ideas and the hard work that comes from the membership. We, as an Executive Board, will do everything possible to make sure we put those willing to work. As more opportunities arise in the future, rest assured that you will be plugged in as soon as the right spot opens up for you. If you would like to get plugged into District 6, I encourage you to fill out the volunteer form on http://www.swata.org/. If you have any questions about the volunteer list or want to change some of the committee preferences you might have submitted to us, please let me know (david.traylor@kellerisd.net).