Summer 2023 Message from the President
Hello All!
I hope your summer is progressing well and everyone is healthy and happy. It feels like the Annual Conference and the Spring Regional just happened, and at the same time like they happened long ago. Time is weird that way. I apologize for missing the Spring Message and will work harder to get the rest of the messages out in a timely manner.
Looking Back
Your Board has been very busy these past few months. We had the Spring Regional in Eau Claire at the Lismore. The meeting was another successful joint venture with the Real Property Listers Association. Many thanks to Kim Christman and the Spring Education Committee for a successful event. We are really getting a lot out of the joint meetings with various statewide organizations and hope to continue with these in the future.
We also held our summer virtual workshops earlier in August. These workshops were make-up workshops from the annual conference, as well as for new registrants. If you were in one of the two cancelled Annual Conference workshops and did not register for the Summer Virtual Workshops. Please let me know and we will get you access to the recordings and resources. Thank you to Kim Meinert and Shelley Witte for stepping in for me for a day as I had a medical emergency and was not able to run it. (I’m fine.)
Presentations for the Spring Regional, Summer Virtual and most of our past events can be found on the Past Events page on our website. Please note, only registrants of the Virtual Workshops can access those pages.
Looking Forward
There are few events coming up you might be interested in.
- Fall Regional Meeting. This will be a joint meeting with the Local Property Records Industry Association (PRIA). It will be held October 18-20 at the Point Hotel and Suites on Lake Minocqua. Registration and room blocks are OPEN now. The venue is asking for a headcount and closing the room block by September 18th. So register early and call for your room reservation. You may still be able to get a room after September 18th but the $90 Single Room rate will not be guaranteed.
- The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion SIG will be hosting a webinar free for WLIA members on September 19 at 1, “How to Be an Ally” with Caroline Robinson. Registration is required for you to get the link.
- The Municipal User Group (MUG) will be hosting a Fall Conference on September 29th in Sun Prairie. The event is free. See the event page for RSVP information and the agenda.
The nominations for Awards, and for Board of Directors and President-Elect are OPEN. Help us to recognize those who deserve recognition. And if you want to get involved leadership at WLIA, throw your hat into the ring.
Committee Reports
This email was getting pretty lengthy, so I wrote a news article with all of the committee reports. Check it out to see what we have been doing. Spoiler alert: The Legislative Committee is keeping tabs on lots of important issues, and the Scholarship Committee has selected this year’s scholarship awards. Oh, and Communications is reviving an old article series and helping us find things to do in our off time.
WLIA Finances
Despite the pandemic, WLIA finances continue to be strong. Increasing the membership and registration fees are going a long way to helping us break even on our annual budget as well as providing a better member experience both in person and online. Increases in food and beverage prices, as well as meeting room fees are upon us. Please be assured that we are all working hard to make sure we get the most out of WLIA funds and keep our events affordable and worthwhile. We are looking at making a conservative investment with some of the reserve funds in the form of short- and long-term CDs to increase our bottom line.
As always, my “door is open.” Feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or ideas.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you. I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Jennifer Borlick
President
Wisconsin Land Information Association