Greetings Texas Environment Association Members…

Time passes so quickly…I remember hearing that as a young man and thinking to myself how foolish this sounded; after all, time is time, right? Yet, as I grow older, (wait, wiser!) I am beginning to see that time does pass quickly. The holidays, which I hope each of you enjoyed, seem to be a distant memory. And as I write this message, our new year is nearly 1/12 complete and the calendar is already filling months into the future. This being stated, my remaining time as President is actually short. In fact, the governing council just met for the second time – meaning that one half of the time available for the current council to complete its work has already elapsed.

In the previous Beacon, the goals of the current council were listed in an attempt to illustrate some of the action items the council embarks upon in serving our members. Due to space limitations, I have not re-listed the goals, but, I am pleased to report that the council has been working diligently to attain those goals. In summary, our progress to date is as follows:

• A working document has been prepared for the revisions of the Constitution and By-Laws and is under review by a council appointed sub-committee;
• Actions have been taken to make the application and selection process for our scholarship and awards more objective, for both the applicant and the selection committees
• The “continuation” committee, a vision of Past President Betty Richardson, remains a viable plan and is slated for inclusion in the By-law revision process; and
• The “visions” committee, initiated by Past President Steve Claybrook, has been combined with the membership committee via council action. These committees serve very similar functions and combining the two was a great suggestion (brought forward by our newly elected 2nd VP, Joanna Meyer!).

Although much work has occurred, we still have much to accomplish. Again, I challenge you to become involved and solicit your feedback on what the current governing council can do to serve you better.

In closing, two items I must make you aware of come with mixed emotions. As previously reported, we lost a fellow member shortly after the new year and although we will miss Roy , those that knew him are aware of his faith and may be comforted. Please remember to lift Roy’s family and friends (an obituary has been included in the Beacon). Secondly, Steve Berry and his wife, Kandy, have served TEHA for the past four years in the capacity of Executive Secretary/Treasurer. Steve submitted their resignation to pursue some recently discovered professional opportunities. Although we will certainly miss Steve and Kandy, we are indeed excited for them and wish them well with their endeavors. They have graciously offered to remain on-board until the end of the year to enable us to fill this huge void and have agreed to provide training for the sucessor. We certainly appreicate this offer! Please take time to wish Steve and Kandy well.

Best regards,
Steve Killen