Announcement
Dear WSCO Members,
I want to begin by thanking you all for being a part of the WSCO community and for taking a moment to read how you have individually and collectively contributed to the progress outlined below. This letter is intended to provide insight into the efforts that the Executive Board and WSCO committees are making, as well as provide an outlet via a survey for you to share additional suggestions regarding how we can continue to advance WSCO in ways that are most meaningful to all.
Hosting the congress in Austin, Texas was a steep learning curve that was scary to take on, but was worth every challenge. It was such an honor to have so many individuals I hold in the highest regard come together in the heart of the city where I have lived most of my life.
As with any conference planning, there is so much work that goes unseen prior to the event itself. I am so grateful for the volunteers in our field and those in our local Austin community who gave of their time (most of it unseen) for over a year to ensure this event was a success. The Executive Board and Congress Planning Committee are actively reflecting on what we learned in Austin to ensure that our 12th triennial congress in New Zealand is even more impactful.
As we worked to revise the website, I want to recognize the volunteer efforts of Rich Brundage who spent countless hours on the development and ongoing maintenance of our prior website, and to thank Bart Rzeznik and Conor Foran of Take Courage who have transitioned us to our new site.
With your valuable feedback, we had the guidance from our members needed to revise our website to enhance the user interface. Thank you for your patience with this process and your suggestions for change. Your input helped us improve the membership enrollment and renewal process as well as develop a more efficient process for reporting and receiving immediate response regarding any web-based concerns.
As you read updates from WSCO committees in the coming pages, you will see our commitment to strengthening our global representation and strengthening expertise in the area of cluttering, as well as a direct call for more members to join our committees.
To that end, the Executive Board is calling for a vote from our members to revise our bylaws to ensure global representation (refer to our website for access to bylaws). The specific edit we are recommending is as follows:
The Executive Board must have members from at least two different countries at all times.
The related change to the Operational Procedures as a result of the addition of this bylaw would be as follows:
Global Representation Requirement
With respect to cluttering, we are excited to share that we now have representation of expertise and perspectives across all committees, and that is largely because of the time and effort of Susie Cook. She has been such a huge help and has also provided me with the opportunity to meet with the ICA board to explore other ways to enhance representation and impact. We will continue to provide you with updates regarding progress in this area.
Our Executive Board has focused several discussions on how we can ensure fiscal responsibility. Our hosting of the congress in Austin enabled us to reduce expenses and secure funds to support our continued growth.
To ensure all financial documents are properly documented, and maintain the financial health of WSCO we have worked to create systems change including securing accounting support at nominal fee as well as revising the billing process in a manner that provides increased transparency and reporting ease.
We are forecasting to ensure long term sustainability such that any financial implications of our decisions related to future congresses, ongoing website maintenance, and journal partnership do not compromise our resources as we look toward the future.
Changing the name of our organization was a critical step forward that we made with the support of our membership. However, at the time of the announcement of the name change, the change itself was made superficially with regard to the branding, website, congress and the shifting of all references of IFA to WSCO.
To move this beyond that superficial change, we had to determine and complete the steps needed to ensure the legal documentation of this change. We amended the Article of Incorporation, submitted that via the designated state agency, and updated our name via the IRS through the filing of the appropriate form. We are relieved to announce that the shift from IFA to WSCO is now officially recognized.
As I have previously served in different roles on the Executive Board it was evident that the Treasurer role requires unique knowledge, including historical knowledge, and that in certain years the time intensity of this role in particular is high compared to other roles. This year I would say was among the most intensive.
I want to thank Hope for all of her time and efforts. There has been so much we have learned together, and with her dedication we were able to determine critical steps to make significant progress. And, even though we knew we had access to the prior Treasurer (Shelly Jo Kraft) was always available to help us, the complexity of the role requires a need for the Treasurer to formally stay on the Executive Board to support transition to the next Treasurer.
With that in mind, the Executive Board is requesting the membership to vote on a revision to the bylaws such that similar to the President, the term length for the Treasurer requires one year post service on the board to support the onboarding of the new Treasurer. The specific change to the bylaw we are recommending is as follows:
The Past-President, and the Past-Treasurer serves a one-year term.
On our new and improved website, we are excited to announce that we are adding a members-only access portal, in which we will be continuously adding and expanding new content. There, you’ll find the WSCO Keynote Series, Researcher Spotlight Series, Clinician Spotlight Series, Mentorship Spotlight Series, and Lived Experiences with Cluttering and Stuttering Series. We are dedicated to capturing the stories and wisdom of those who shaped our organization’s past through recording interviews with founding members of the IFA and past Executive Board members.
We are so grateful to the members of our community who have already, and who will in the near future take the time to create these recordings and are willing to have them accessed by WSCO members worldwide. The first of these will be posted this month with many more added in the months and years ahead.
For the present newsletter we have incorporated input from all committees and Executive Board members, to provide greater insight into our community. Our plan is to distribute this newsletter biannually, with the additional aim of highlighting the activities of each of our committees on a monthly basis through enhanced social media presence.
Your engagement and feedback as we move forward with this plan will shape our ongoing efforts. Please note this will not take the place of the exceptional contribution of Evan Usler who along with his committee has created an invaluable resource in the research newsletter, but is intended to share with the membership the efforts of the other committees and that of the Executive Board.
We want to thank all who are contributing to JFD whether as Editor or Guest Editors for our WSCO Proceedings, as Editorial Board Members, or Reviewers. We are determined to strengthen the regard and impact of JFD and the benefits related to its unique partnership with WSCO. We are actively meeting with Elsevier to ensure the integrity and efficiency of the review process, and to determine pathways for increasing contributions from leading researchers in countries beyond the US, UK, and Australia. Please see our call for more EBMs as this is one way in which we can strengthen impact and reach.
As you read the rest of our newsletter, you will gain more insight into the steps above as well as additional steps we have taken. And, on behalf of the Executive Board, we thank you for taking the time to please complete the survey and to cast your votes with regard to the proposed changes in our bylaws as that will guide our future steps and ensure we continue to make a difference in ways that are most meaningful to all.
All our best,
Courtney c/o Hope, Naomi, Jean, Rod, and Kurt