DIRECTORS’ CORNER
Tim Erickson
Chief Financial and Operations Officer,
Hudson School District
WASBO Director
I
want to start my article by
thanking each of you for your
support as I move into the
President-Elect position. My
road from being a member
of WASBO to becoming an
involved member is a long one. I never
really gave much thought about getting
“active” in WASBO until about a
decade into the profession.
Sure, I always thought I should volunteer
to help in one of the many areas
of opportunity, but always figured I
was too busy. I always thought “not
now, I don’t have the time.” I have
always admired the people that have
done so much to make WASBO
what it is, and I have always felt the
conferences and other functions were
extremely well done and very worthwhile.
However, I was content to sit
back, relax and let others take care of
all the great happenings in WASBO.
That came to a screeching halt a few
years ago when I
When are we
going to get
you involved?
was attending our state mixer at an
ASBO International conference. I
walked up to say hello to our now
former Executive Director, Woody
Weidenhoeft, we greeted each other
and then he said, “When are we going
to get you involved?”
In a moment of weakness and an overcoming
of guilt, I said, “Sure, I’ll get
involved.” We chatted a bit more, then
I walked away thinking, “You’ve got
to be kidding me, we are in the middle
of 3 large building projects and I just
committed to getting involved after
avoiding it all these years.”
A few weeks later, I received a call
from the nominating committee
asking me to run for an opening on
the board. I said I would get involved,
but I certainly wasn’t thinking of serving
on the board. After some thought
about all the great professional development,
networking with colleagues
and many other benefits I had taken
advantage of over the years, I decided
it was time to get involved.
I can tell you; it has been one of
the best experiences I have ever
had. My past three years
on the board have gone
extremely fast. The camaraderie
that occurs
on the board is second
to none. Mike Barry,
Jeanne Deimund and the
rest of the WASBO staff are great
to work with, well prepared and go
above and beyond. We all work well
together, and we remain focused on
the WASBO mission.
There are so many opportunities to
become an “involved” member of
WASBO. Taking a walk through
our website, under the tab “Get
Involved” (Woody must have created
that tab), WASBO hosts over 20
conferences, workshops and seminars
annually. There are 13 different
committees to volunteer on. You
can volunteer to write an article for
this publication. At conferences, you
can volunteer to be a moderator at a
session and meet some great presenters.
At the January State Education
Convention, WASBO has a booth
in the exhibit hall. Volunteer to take
a shift, promote WASBO and meet
new people.
The WASBO regional meetings are
also another opportunity to participate
and volunteer. Another article in
this newsletter discusses how some of
the regionals have been experiencing
increased interest due to the
pandemic.
I think you’ll find that volunteering
for any of these can be both professionally
and personally rewarding, a
great networking opportunity and,
yes, even fun. It also makes WASBO
a better and stronger organization.
Thank you for giving serious thought
to getting “involved.”
16 June 2020 • Taking Care of Business • WASBO.com
16 June 2020 • Taking Care of Business • WASBO.com