I read with great interest the last two articles provided by past presidents reflecting on the Association's beginning and the reasons for changing its name. One thing that's clear to me - neither took place without commitment and perseverance, which is exactly what it will take to continue to be the premier association in stormwater training and education; communications and information sharing; and, advocacy.
Another notable milestone in the life of FSA was a two day long-range planning exercise conducted in Orlando 12 years ago. The need to grow membership was an ongoing concern. Just as any enterprise needs to grow to be sustainable, FSA needed to grow to be able to respond to the ever-increasing demand for services. And that led to the lengthy debate on exactly what we needed to do to remain relevant in the constantly evolving world of stormwater permitting and policy. The result was the 2006 Strategic Plan, adopted by the Board of Directors and implemented through the Executive Committee's Action Plan. One realization was that membership recruitment was not simply the responsibility of management staff and the membership committee, but also each Board member.
Just like many of us that commit time to the continual analysis and improvement of the services we provide in our own organization, the need is just as critical for FSA to continue to be meaningful and successful. To me, this leads to the question that needs to be asked and answered again and again: How can the focus of the Association stay relevant? The answer: By actively participating and contributing! And that happens by serving on a committee, which leads to chairing a committee, which leads to serving on the Board of Directors, which leads to serving on the Executive Committee, which results in growing the Association and keeping FSA relevant well into the future!
Sam Amerson was President of the Association in 2005-06.
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