Randy Young, TLIA President
Welcome to the new season. Now you might think I am talking about when the leaves turn and a crisp chill blows through the window, or the joy of October baseball. No, I am referring to the final months of the first new TLIA fiscal year. I think it’s going to be a very exciting time this first year. You’ll remember that last November we voted to modify our fiscal calendar to match the annual calendar year of January thru December. That change is a welcome improvement to our association’s fiscal management and reporting. It has made things easier and better organized, like our taxes, money management, budget planning, and the eventual forecasting of opportunities for years to come. I believe we have set up the association to be much more responsive and accountable to the membership in 2018 and I look forward to the improvement continuing as we move forward.
A very important part of this “new season” is the recruiting of new faces with new ideas for our membership. These are the people who will step up as leaders in our community. For every year of my stewardship of the organization, I have been preaching the value of volunteerism. It is the life blood of our community. In fact, it is the one topic I have written about the most in this column because I believe it is our best virtue and our highest value.
The Nominations Committee is hard at work searching for that next group of motivated people. The people who will guide TLIA into our future and the success our community demands. How many times have you heard me ask, “Are you one of those people?” Well, are you?
Change is inevitable, change is good, and new ideas are the oxygen of Tower Lakes. The committees are just rolling over and some great people have stepped up already. There are new faces on Events and Youth. Grounds is always looking for more than daily volunteers on cleanup days. The Nomination Committee is on the march to find those who really want to make a difference and lead as members of the TLIA Board. I cannot imagine a more exciting thing than a competitive election for every seat available! What spirit that would bring to Tower Lakes?
Take these last few weeks, prior to the deadline of October 20, and examine what you can do to make a difference. How you can be a part of shaping our community in 2019 and beyond. I have been at it for many years and I can tell you, it’s truly a life fulfilling experience. To paraphrase a rather famous musical… “You gotta be in the room where it happens.”