Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/229104
GREAT THINGS From Your Board of Directors An Open Letter to WEA's Ethnic Minority Members from your Board Representative: I hope this short note finds you all well. I would like to encourage you to get more involved in your association. Many times, if you are like me, you just assumed someone would "step up to the plate" and take care of business as usual, only to find out that the person who was elected was not serving your needs. Perhaps there was a time that you wanted to run for office, but just did not know enough about the association to get involved. I was a member for 30-some years and had a VERY limited association and experience with WEA until I realized that I was a leader and not a follower. ERNEST L. DURAN, Ph.D. WEA Minority Representative I realized that my input was valuable and that I needed to be heard like everyone else. I am still learning, and many times I find myself faltering, but continue to do my best. Professionally, I have grown by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, this comes at a time that I am retired. I still hold an avid interest in the association, and I will continue to be active, so I implore you, don't be one of those that sit back and complain or wonder what direction we are going; get in there and make yourself known. We will have openings on the WEA Board of Directors, NEA Representative Assembly, local boards, and many other areas. Do not be the minority; be the majority who makes decisions, not only for the association but for yourself as well. WEA-Retired ready to work! The WEA-Retired local is working to revitalize its members through meaningful and enriching activities. It wants to become a positive force in our association, to benefit members, and to become visible in our communities. One activity we are considering involves working with the millennial group to create a classroom materials swap meet to help new teachers or teachers who are changing grade levels or assignments get all those bulletin boards and classroom materials they may need and that those of us who have retired no longer need or want to store anymore. We will be participating with the WEA President and the student local in EVELYN WALL WEA's Read Across America Cat-A-Van; taking a more active role with WEA-Retired President "Outreach to Teach" with the student local; mentoring new teachers; and evelyn.wall@bresnan.net creating a handbook for new teachers written by newly-retired members as "welcome to the profession" gifts. We are putting together a rapid response team to activate around the legislature; I know there are plenty of you out there still very interested in what the legislature does around education and retirement issues. Other potential projects include looking at ways in which we can assist locals with their membership recruitment drives, serving as a resource for organizing, and helping with advocacy. Thanks to action taken by the most recent Delegate Assembly, WEA-Retired representatives are now serving on every WEA commission and committee. As you can see, we have lots of exciting projects in the works. If you want to be part of the activities of the WEA-Retired, please let me know what you might be interested in doing or activities you think would benefit education in our state. We definitely want to include you in the fun!! Please contact either Evie Wall at evelyn.wall@bresnan.net or Cherie Cox at ccox@nea.org to offer your help or suggestions. Since we are trying to go green as much as possible, please make sure we have your e-mail address. Our elections will be held electronically, and our WEA-Retired E-news will be coming out 2-3 times per year. We don't want you to miss it! Thanks again to everyone for your input and suggestions as we work to rejuvenate the WEA-Retired local. 12 WINTER 2013 | WEAnews ICI_ 6 Winter 2013 Final.indd 12 12/12/13 3:40 PM