August 2020 WMCA E-Newsletter
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Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association Monthly Newsletter
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2019-2020
President's
Last
Message
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My time as your WMCA President is coming to an end and it is hard for me to believe it will be over. What a year this has been, and I would not trade it for any other. In my January Newsletter I started off by saying “1920 was the Year that made the Decade Roar – will 2020 be the Year that makes WMCA Roar?” And ROAR it has for the Professional Clerk!!! My hope was that it would be an accomplished year for all – but little did any of us know that it would be an unprecedented year full of unexpected health concerns, election stress and economic uncertainty in our communities. With these challenges continuing to happen, please keep remembering to breath and reach out to your resources and your WMCA family like you have been doing, when you need help or just a friend. We are nearing the election finish-line, but with the absentee workload we are all facing, we still have a long way to go. We are WMCA Strong and if we Stand Together, we will not only thrive, we will survive! I am proud of WMCA and all the Professionals in the Clerk world and I raise my glass to you!
Elections: Three down and one to go – and it is the Big One, but we will have to do it without Diane Lowe, Lead Elections Specialist for WEC. Diane has decided to hang up her election hat, gloves, mask, & face shield, and go off into “Retirement Land.” Yep, she did it on August 7th, she retired after 25 years of dedicated service to the citizens of the State of Wisconsin and WMCA. We will miss Diane’s presence, her voice of knowledge which we have come to trust and her humor in trying to make all things election entertaining. Please join me in Thanking Diane for her service to WMCA and wishing her all the best in her new journey.
Voice for WMCA: I want to Thank you, the members for trusting me to be the voice for WMCA this past year. With the Presidential Election drawing near, I have received so many requests for interviews to talk about, what else, elections. I have answered many questions, more than they print, and every time I state we are Professional Clerks and what we do is a profession. It is one we are dedicated to, we serve our residents and businesses with integrity and transparency, we do everything we can to ensure every person who wants to vote is able to cast their vote and we do it by going above and beyond because we love our communities and our jobs. So remember, no matter how difficult your job is or how stressful elections are, you are a Professional Clerk and you got this!
Career Opportunities: With so many retirements in Clerkland this year and Clerks leaving the municipal world for other opportunities there are lots of job openings throughout the State. Remember to look at the Career Ads on the WMCA website and if you know of others looking for a professional career, direct them to our website.
Clerk-At-Heart: If you are one of the Clerks that have recently retired, please contact Faith Elford about our Clerk-At-Heart program to see if you qualify. WMCA and the membership still needs you, your knowledge, support, and fellowship.
District #4 Director: Welcome Elena Hilby, Clerk for the City of Sun Prairie who will join Julie Strutz as your District #4 Co-Director. District #4 will be in good hands with these two energetic and engaging Professionals.
District #8 Director: We have also had a last minute changing of the guard in District 8. Jennifer Steiner, Clerk/Treasurer of the Town of Conover has announced her retirement at the end of the year. Kaye Matucheski, the Clerk/Treasurer/Finance Director from the City of Antigo has stepped to become the newest District Director for our 2020-2021 season. Welcome aboard Kaye!
District Directors are still needed for District 1. Please contact Faith Elford.
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2020-2021
President
Wendy Helgeson
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Please join me in welcoming your incoming President Wendy Helgeson, Professional Clerk for the Town of Greenville. Wendy will take over on August 28, 2020 and she is going to be a fantastic President. If you already know Wendy you know she is easy to talk to, dedicated, fun, funny and has HEART. If you do not know Wendy, I want to tell you she is genuine, professional, approachable, knowledgeable and she has so much HEART – all qualities that will make her a great President. It has been my pleasure getting to know Wendy and I am so excited for her to be WMCA’s 41st President.
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VISION: The Wisconsin Clerks Education Fund Committee, chaired by Racquel Shampo-Giese, along with Ellen Clark, Jennifer Haar, Debbie Hall, Pamela Ann Little, Marie Moe, and Jeanne O’Brien have put their heads together with Faith on how to fund raise to generate donations for future scholarships for our members. With the cancellation of our annual conference raising donations was going to be a challenge, but fear not, they created a vision in the form of a “Sweepstakes.” All WMCA members will receive the Sweepstakes information along with WMCA’s 40th Anniversary Pin in the mail soon. So keep an eye out for it because you don’t want to miss the opportunity to win a prize and help WCEF replenish scholarship funds. I hope you will join me in making this a VICTORY!
VICTORIES: We have so much to be thankful for and what I have seen this year can be celebrated by each of us as a true Victory. Members – we support each other, share ideas, best practices, forms, words of encouragement, humor and so much more. Each time we help one another, it is a Victory. Vendors – Our wonderful, generous vendors help provide scholarships, conference funds, and come through for us when we need it most – like when Faith recently put out the word that we needed help our Associate Members once again stepped up to help us with the Sweepstakes mailing and other expenses. PLEASE take more than a few moments to celebrate this victory by looking at the reverse side of the letter included in the mailer which lists the VENDOR and their DONATION and consider them the next time you need their product or service. I LOVE OUR VENDORS and feel so much gratitude that they are in our corner. Please join me in Thanking them!!!!!
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HAPPY 40TH ANNIVERSARY WMCA
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We did not get to our 40th year without the first 39 years of leadership, dedication, hard work, volunteers, members, vendors, support, commitment, loyalty and friendship. I am so proud to be part of this great organization, I thank it for all it has given me, and I am honored to have served as your 40th President. I hope I have served you well and given back to the members, a leg to stand on, like it has given me. I will continue to serve as your Past President, and I am dedicated to helping provide more “Red Hot Alerts.” (Click here for the list of the first 40 Presidents.)
THANKFUL: I am thankful for all the Chairs and Committee Members who volunteered their time and energy for the membership and for working as hard as you did to achieve the goals, I asked of you. I am proud of the work we accomplished. I am thankful for the Board of Directors who took the time to thoughtfully consider the issues before us for the betterment of the members and who supported me throughout my journey. I am thankful for all the comments I have received from the members, whether in agreement on an issue or not because they helped me to learn and grow. I am thankful for all the kind words and encouragement I received – they mean so much. Thank you for speaking your truth and allowing me the opportunity to do what I could to address your concerns and speak on your behalf. Thank you to our Vendors for providing the services and support we need to do our jobs and especially for answering the call when we need help. Thank you to WEC, our State Leaders and all the other organizations for listening to us and doing what you can to help us do our jobs. All these relationships have carried me through this challenging year and as I said, I would not trade it for any other.
Final Thought: I started my year with a theme song – Stand By Me (Ben E. King.) For me this song embodies WMCA and its mission. This song says, no matter who you are, no matter where you go in your life, at some point you are going to need somebody to stand by you. Remember, no matter the challenge, hold your head high for you are a Professional and WMCA will keep providing you with a leg to stand on.
I am truly grateful for my opportunity to serve and I wish everyone all the best and every success in your life’s journey. God Bless, Stay Well and Believe in You, Diane
Diane Coenen WCMC/CMC
2019-2020 WMCA President
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Click on the ad to go to their website.
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WMCA Associate Members are great partners with the WMCA. The next time you need to purchase a service or software, or other items, check out the vendors ads on the WMCA website on the Municipal Vendor page.
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Please watch your mail for an envelope with a 40th Anniversary gift and an offer to enter a Sweepstakes for the WCEF Fund. Since the WMCA did not have a conference this year and has not been bringing in the usual revenue, how can we do this? You can thank every one of the following Associate members that have stepped up and given us donations to make this happen.
Please thank these vendors when you can and remember them when you need a new product or service.
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Check Out the
Vendor Demos
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The 2020 WMCA 40th Annual Conference cancellation due to coronavirus not only denied our clerk members great educational opportunities, it also prevented our loyal WMCA Associate members the chance to show you the products and services they have to make your work life easier.
Since you cannot attend the vendor demonstrations at the conference this year, the Associates are bringing their demonstrations to you. Go to the WMCA website and run your mouse over Municipal Vendors in the drop down menu and you will see 2020 Virtual Vendor Demonstrations. Click on a vendor name to bring up a recorded demo at your convenience. The demonstrations will be available through August.
Click here to see the virtual vendor demos now.
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Have You Checked Out the Career Ads Lately? Have you been thinking of making a change or possibly moving up to a bigger position? Don’t forget to check out the “Career Ads” section of the WMCA website. Go to: https://www.wisclerks.org/ and click on the blue button on the right side of the website to check out all of the openings around the state.
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THE WMCA MISSION:
To be the premier source for the personal empowerment of municipal clerks in Wisconsin through education, professional development, and the promotion of excellence.
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