 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||
President's Page
September 2011 Hi all, I would like to take this opportunity to update you on some of the ongoing activities of the board as they are progressing: Board Elections: As you are aware, we are currently seeking nominations and volunteers to serve on the board of directors. Elections were postponed earlier in the year, and our first effort to gather candidates to run for the board did not generate a list sufficient for the number of open positions. In an effort to develop a deep and balanced list of candidates, we have formed a nominating committee to seek out and recommend candidates to add to the short list of those who have volunteered to run. The nomination and election process is very important to the ongoing function of the board and service to the membership. This process is taking some time, so please be patient and keep an eye out for elections. We will be notifying you to vote once the nomination process has been completed. If you are interested in running, please email us at taep@taep.org, or feel free to contact any current board member for more information. NAEP Affiliation: Last year, the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) worked to establish revised affiliation agreements with its member chapters nationwide. The effort was directed at strengthening the relationship between NAEP and its chapters, and also to increase revenues to NAEP. There were some significant differences in the new affiliation agreement framework and cost structure proposed by NAEP. We have been negotiating with NAEP in this regard throughout the process in an effort to maintain our relationship, while also protecting our independent identity, continuing to make the best possible use of our chapter funds, and ensuring that we are meeting TAEP's mission to our membership. This negotiation is ongoing, so please feel free to contact me directly if you would like to discuss the process, or where we are currently in that regard. NAEP is trying to offer more benefits for its member chapters, so please do watch our website for opportunities that may interest you. Website: Speaking of the website, we have had a number of minor delays accumulate as we have been trying to fold our current site content into the new platform, and the process has taken considerably longer than anticipated. While we still have work to do, I am happy to report that we are finally nearing the point of having the website content complete and ready for testing. We are working to simplify our payment and event registration process prior to powering up the new site, but we hope to have the website go live perhaps in the next few weeks. I would like to express my thanks to those who have been working on this project, as it has not been an easy one- especially as a mostly volunteer effort! We believe the payoff will be worthwhile, as the new platform will integrate some more powerful features and help streamline some of our efforts as our organization continues to grow. 2012 Environmental Challenges and Innovation Conference: I am pleased to say that planning for our ECIC 2012 is underway! We are happy to announce that Brandi Naughton has stepped up to chair the conference, and Jess Bailey has agreed to co-chair the conference again this year! The conference committee had their first meeting on August 16th. The committee is seeking volunteers to join them in planning and carrying out the conference. If you are interested, please contact us so we can include you in the conference planning activities! Scholarships: TAEP awarded five $1000 scholarships for the Fall 2011 semester to deserving students in environmental programs in our region! In addition, they receive a complimentary 1-year student membership in TAEP. TAEP also supports the Texas Envirothon for high school students. Our Texas team of five students did a great job at the national Canon Envirothon competition held July 20-29 in New Brunswick (Canada), finishing in the top 30 with more than 50 teams participating. Congratulations to all of these future environmental professionals! We are looking forward to a number of interesting luncheon speakers as we proceed into fall, and our Young Environmental Professionals (YEP) group meets at a new venue on the first Thursday of each month, so please check our website and make plans to join them for an evening of networking and fun! We are also once again planning for our annual holiday party at St. Arnold's, so please keep the evening of December 8th open for this fun event! Jim Dobberstine
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||||
