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“Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.”
― Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery
Have you ever taken a moment to look around at your colleagues when you attend our conferences? Have you ever noticed that despite the pressure and challenges that our profession offers us, that by and large we are a pretty happy bunch? I believe is attributable to the sentiment expressed by those words of Mr. Washington. Year after year I am proud to be a member of our great association simply because of the members that we have. We work hard to ensure the most for our students, teachers, staff members and communities at large. Having served on the evaluation committee in the past, I can tell you after a brief glance at our past School Business Officials of the Year and their fellow nominees, that so many of our colleagues are doing the most that they can for others inside and outside the job.
Knowing this about our membership is why NMASBO was so excited to utilize our strength in numbers to begin the Social Responsibility Campaign during Fiscal Year 2016. As the Campaign evolved this year, we determined that each fiscal year we will select a cause to support. This year, our cause was Coats for Children. At our Fall Conference we brought in about 30 used and new coats and raised nearly $750 for the Coats for Kids program in Las Cruces. The NMASBO Board of Directors chose to match the donations received from the membership and exhibitors, bringing the total money raised to $1,500. At our Winter Conference we brought in about 15 used and new coats and raised nearly $500 for the Koats for Kids program, which is a statewide effort. The NMASBO Board of Directors chose to match the donations received from the membership and exhibitors, bringing the total money raised to $1,000. If you haven’t seen it yet, follow this link for our check presentation:
http://m.koat.com/news/nmasbo-donates-to-koats-for-kids/38390850. That’s a total of $2,500 and more than 50 coats this fiscal year!
Just as we all are gearing up for Fiscal Year 2017, so is our Social Responsibility Campaign. We are working to improve our campaign and welcome any suggestions. As we get closer to the Fall Conference, we may also have opportunities for volunteers. One thing we know is that we want to make it easier to give so donations via credit card payments will be available by Fall Conference.
You may recall that initially we planned to have a new Social Responsibility Campaign at Spring Budget Workshop. It was decided that in order to do the chosen organization justice, we should postpone to the coming fiscal year. The selected organization has a special connection to us because it has personally touched the life of one of our business managers. Allow me to share again with you the correspondence from one our members: