It is with great pleasure that I begin my term of service as ArSHA President. Having served as President-Elect this previous year has been a wonderful opportunity to learn from outstanding board members. Debbie Venkatesh has been especially inspiring and we have truly been blessed to have her serve as our President for the last two years. I am humbled to follow in her footsteps and work with such a wonderful board.
Before serving on the board as President-Elect I was not
well-informed regarding the role ArSHA plays in advocating for our
professions. I was equally unaware of the role that I as a member could
play in the process. I question whether our general membership is
well-informed concerning the nature of our board and the role we play.
Our
board is composed of professionals in both audiology and speech
pathology who work in a variety of settings. Our variety of backgrounds
enables us to work as a team and build upon the strengths of others.
Every ArSHA member should recognize that they too have unique
experiences and talents that they can share with the rest of our
association. Your participation in association meetings and
representation of our professions in your workplace contributes to our
strength.
Perhaps the characteristic that I have recognized as
being of greatest worth to our association is the willingness of ArSHA
members to serve and sacrifice for the building up of our association.
The willingness to unite and sacrifice for a common cause is an
attribute that must be present in any successful organization. We see
this common thread in successful businesses, service organizations, and
educational institutions.
I do not consider Michael Jordan to
be one of the greatest philosophers of our time. However, he knows the
game of basketball and how to win championships. When asked his secret
to winning he said the following:
“There
are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players and never
win titles. Most of the time, those players aren’t willing to sacrifice
for the greater good of the team. The funny thing is, in the end,
their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individual goals more
difficult to achieve. One thing I believe to the fullest is that if you
think and achieve as a team, the individual accolades will take care of
themselves. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win
championships.”
Thank you for being on our team and
supporting our efforts to advocate for our professions. We look forward
to bringing you opportunities to participate more in these efforts and
welcome your input. Please feel free to contact myself or other board
members to find out how you might more actively participate in
professional advocacy. We need each one of you to make our association
the best we can be!
Respectfully yours, Jeffrey C. Meeks, EdS CCC-SLP ArSHA President
