Dear Members and Prospective Members,
Welcome to WCA’s website and thank you for visiting!
After a three year hiatus from activity, WCA IS BACK! I am so honored to serve as president in the 2011-2012 year. As WCA serves a region I have grown to love, and as I continue to grow in my identity as a counselor, I can think of no better opportunity than leading WCA in what I suspect will be a strong year!
As for updates, WCA held two meetings last spring (2011), and we added several new members and established officers and committees chairs for membership and by-laws revision (which were FINALLY located!!!). WCA still needs members, members who are willing to take on leadership positions, and increased student membership.
Dr. Rebekah Byrd (Secretary), Jeri Bledsoe (WCA Member), Dr. Janna Scarborough (By-Laws Revisions Chair), Dr. Patricia Robertson (WCA Member), and I recently attended the Leadership Development Conference in Middle Tennessee, and those in attendance from across the state were extremely excited to have WCA back in the midst of TCA. Those of us who attended for the first time learned so much, and all of us made or strengthened connections with other professionals across Tennessee. In addition to networking and re-establishing WCA at the state level, we heard what other chapters are doing to increase membership and participation, and I certainly left with so many good ideas for the future of WCA (and the money WCA was owed for membership disbursement from the last 3 years!).
Seeing that WCA’s focus needs to be increasing membership and member participation, I’d like to unofficially theme this year as “Reach Out.” While WCA could function as is, that’s really not the point! A huge benefit of joining WCA and other professional organizations is the opportunity network with, learn from, and collaborate with colleagues!
That being said, REACH OUT to your co-workers; REACH OUT to former members whose memberships have lapsed; REACH OUT to potential sponsors and partners; REACH OUT to graduate students who are working in your schools and organizations; REACH OUT to anyone you know who cares about the profession of counseling!
Anyone who is interested can visit TCA’s website and choose WCA for their local chapter after joining TCA: http://www.tncounselors.org/join_tca_today.htm
Please know that I am available to answer questions and open to feedback – just send an email to the address jpyanoe@gmail.com.
Again, I thank WCA members for their confidence and the opportunity to serve! I look forward to seeing everyone at our fall meetings!
Keep well,
Julina Pyanoe
