President's Column

It is fundamentally important that we remember. The freedoms that make our country what it is have not come easily. Countless women and men have served our country throughout its history to uphold the values that make the United States what it is today. From the sands of Iwo Jima to the beaches of Normandy, to the jungles in the Philippines and Vietnam, and most recently in the desserts of the Middle East, members of our armed forces have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Every August my family goes to the beach for a week before the girls have to go back to school. As I walked along the Atlantic coast this year, I thought about King William, both my neighborhood and our Association. Perhaps it was related to the high and low tides, or what washed up on the shore. Perhaps it was erosion of shoreline with dune restoration efforts to preserve it, or sand castle creations washed away with the next tide. Perhaps it was the diversity of marine life we encountered, from periwinkles to sand dollars, from nesting turtles to varieties of crab (including horseshoe, hermit and ghost), and from pods of dolphins to a shark!

Thank you for your vote of confidence in electing me the new King William Association president.  I look forward to working with the 2013-2014 Board of Directors, KWA members and businesses in our community.  Much was accomplished in the previous administration, as we heard at our last general meeting from Deb Mueller, our past president.  I would like to thank her, her board, committees and program managers for their many contributions.  And, let us not forget our Executive Director and staff who represent us so professionally every day. 

Recently, some of last year’s board members participated in a Core Capacity Assessment Tool (CCAT) exercise that presented us with opportunities for improvement in our core program development.  But we also want to hear from you; therefore, we have organized a Member Input Meeting to be held this month on Tuesday the 15th at SAY Si.  This meeting will support a KWA Strategic Plan to be developed over the next several months. 

As we look in the mirror, I hope we see an organization striving to become an agent of change that balances our individual “wants” with the “objectives” of our charter.  For that reason, we need more than just a talented group of directors doing the thinking – we need your participation.  I don’t mean just raising issues; I mean actively participating on reaching balanced solutions that will serve the common good.  Volunteering is not a science; you don’t have to be an expert in the area that interests you (see article this issue).  The only requirement is your interest in improving our neighborhood.  I encourage you to take ownership, get involved and add your voice in developing expected outcomes for our association. 

I look forward to meeting you and working with you.  Call our office tell them you are ready to be an active contributor toward the success of our Association.  

Behind the scenes, it is a busy summer for the KWA. In the last issue I mentioned the Board of Directors will work on and approve a 2014 budget which will include funding for many of the activities we support throughout the year: concerts at SARA, artists at the office, graffiti clean-up, tree planting, the home tour program, sidewalks, socials and scholarships. The budget also includes general operating expenses from salaries to staples. In addition, we budget for building maintenance of our office on S. Alamo. After accounting for what the KWA needs to operate and complete programs or approved projects we look to the remainder of the KW Fair income to award grants to organizations throughout our community.