|
REFLECTING: While the days are shorter and life is busier with holiday celebrations mixed into year-end deadlines, tax collection, pre-election work and a whole lot of other stuff, we just keep the “Clerk Work” moving along. I wanted to reflect on our Association and how well we are working together to make an impact in our communities, our personal growth and our profession. Our committees are meeting and diligently working on the goals we set before them in August. We appreciate all of you who are participating on a committee. We balanced and adopted our budget for 2019 so we are good to go in 2019! District Directors continue to put together excellent training opportunities for District meetings. I am so impressed with the agendas I have seen so far. District meetings are so important for the continuing education of our members and sometimes that meeting is the only educational opportunity that member may attend.
IT ISN’T ABOUT THE POLITICS, IT IS ABOUT THE IMPACTS: I was recently in awe at the collective voice we shared about how proposed legislation during the Lame Duck Session of the Wisconsin Legislators, would impact our electors, our work processes and our municipalities. As you are aware, we established the Legislative Communications and Advocacy Committee so that we have a vehicle which helps us take a seat at the table when legislation is still in the proposal stage versus reacting after it has already become law. One of the ways we accomplish this is by sending out communications as to what is happening, so we can all contact our Legislators. Yes, we also offer general information to the media about how legislation will impact our profession as a whole, but we still encourage our membership of Clerks to reach out to be heard individually, as well. Please know that our Association’s primary focus is education not lobbying for a political position one way or another. I encourage you to understand the importance of establishing professional relationships with elected officials, so we can individually be their “expert” resource. I also encourage each of you to broaden your perspective so that you can not only offer advice relative to the impacts on the job you perform inside your own community, but also to consider the impacts for Clerks who may be struggling with challenges your community will never have to experience. Together we are a strong community of professionals!
Kelly Michaels WCMC/CMC
2018-2019 WMCA President
|
|
The Wisconsin Clerks Education Fund (WCEF) of the WMCA was established to promote the training and education of Municipal Clerks so that they will bring high professional standards to the office of Clerk and will better serve the elected officials and citizens of their governmental unit by providing efficient and economical services.
WCEF’s purpose is to raise money for Municipal Clerk scholarships at WMCA approved educational sessions. Every dollar you donate helps promote education to Wisconsin Clerks in keeping with the WMCA’s mission: ”To be the premier source for the personal empowerment of Municipal Clerks in Wisconsin through education, professional development and the promotion of excellence.”
In 2018, WCEF awarded $9,200 in scholarships to the Northern Wisconsin Training Days in May and the Annual Conference in August. These fellow Clerks benefited from the generosity of everyone who donated Silent Auction items, purchased raffle tickets (Cash Raffle, 50/50 & Packers) and even direct cash donations to WCEF: Ardith Story, Kay Wege, Valerie Foley, Nicole Lemens, Sarah Lyons, Rebecca Franks, Mary Kay Baumann, Liz Wilkinson, Nicky Thompson, Tammy Tennies, Michelle Seidl, Vicki Olson, Kelly Murre, Rubina Medina, Brenda Mead, Susan Lesky, Linda Kuhlman, Shelly Kazda, Julie Ihlenfeld, Kimberly Gruetzmacher, Marcy Granger, Michelle Ebbert, Dawn Calnin, Susan Caine, Caroline Burmaster, Michelle Brecht, Jennifer Becker, Jill Bartol, Elizabeth Alberts, Rebecca Ness, Elizabeth Miller, and Nicole Mrzena. That’s 4 - $200 full scholarships for the Northern Wisconsin Training Days and 28 - $300 full scholarships for the Annual Conference!
How Do We Raise Money? WCEF Committee has a few traditional means of raising money, namely the Silent Auction and 50/50 Raffles at the annual conference and the cash raffle available through the very generous donation from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities Mutual Insurance and one fellow philanthropic Clerk (you know who you are…and so do we!) We also try to raffle something unique at each annual conference. In 2017, it was a pair of Packers/Vikings tickets, and in 2018 it was a Packers rug and a Badgers rug handmade by Dallas Hongistro. (Thanks again, Dallas & Melissa!)
In addition to the raffles and Silent Auction, WCEF participates in iGive and AmazonSmile. These organizations donate a portion of your online purchases back to WCEF at NO EXTRA COST to you! You have to register WCEF as your charitable organization in order for us to receive the donations, but it is VERY simple to do. Check out the instructions on the WMCA website. Click on the WCEF-WI Clerks Education Fund button in the menu on the left side of the home webpage.
What’s the Point? The WCEF Committee members want to make sure you know who we are and what we are doing to help rookie and veteran Clerks attend training and conferences to stay up-to-date on the processes and requirements of our jobs. We’re the folks hawking the raffle tickets, and asking you to take out your wallets for a good cause…YOU!! And we appreciate your support!
|