The Call to Serve
Do you have what it takes to shape the future of VPPPA?
By Chris Williams, CAE; Executive Director – VPPPA
There is one immutable fact in the world of associations: members are the lifeblood. Simply put, without members, an association cannot exist.
Members define the association’s mission. Members provide the strategic guidance that gives the association direction. Members drive the association’s financial success through their membership investment and input on how the return on that investment is maximized.
VPPPA is no different from any other association in that we are governed by a board of directors reflective of the association’s membership. Our leadership is volunteer-driven; serving as an officer, director or committee member is a commitment above and beyond their day job and is representative of the desire to serve. To give back to their association. To provide strategic direction to the association’s present and future. It’s a commitment that represents a true labor of love, one borne of a desire to leave the association in a better position for future generations of sites, companies and personnel who share in our mission to advance health and safety excellence.
Each year, VPPPA issues a call for nominations to fill its open volunteer leadership positions. Members who meet the requirements set forth in the association’s bylaws are invited to take part in the most democratic of exercises: running for one of the open officer or director positions that comprise VPPPA’s strategic leadership team.
Do you have what it takes? Will you heed the call to serve your association and, indeed, your industry?
Employees from VPPPA full or corporate member companies are eligible to serve, provided that they meet the qualification requirements as outlined by VPPPA’s bylaws. Specifically, candidates must have, “…a minimum of one year experience as a Regional Chapter or SHARP Alliance Board member, Regional Committee member, or National Board Committee member at the time of said nomination, election, appointment, or tenure on the Board.”
What, exactly, does serving as a VPPPA national officer or director entail?
Serving on VPPPA’s board of directors is a critical function; the future of the association quite literally is shaped by its members. Directors and officers determine the direction of the association, providing strategic oversight on governance and financial matters while ensuring that the association’s mission and vision are met. VPPPA’s board meets four times per year, at VPPPA’s Safety+, regional conferences and other industry events. Board members serve as ambassadors for VPPPA, representing the association and promoting our efforts to raise the standard for safe and healthy workplaces.
The work is rewarding; volunteer leaders see the fruits of their labor in the short- and long-term success of VPPPA. Those who serve follow in the footsteps of their peers whose work over the previous 39 years created the VPPPA of today while laying the groundwork for the VPPPA of tomorrow, for future generations to uphold.
Service as a volunteer leader is reflective of a desire to serve, to create the next iteration of VPPPA. It’s not for everyone. However, those who heed the call find that the rewards of service to our profession, to advancing health and safety excellence for all, repay their commitment in spades. To start your volunteer leadership journey with VPPPA, click here to complete the nomination form. VPPPA needs you. Heed the call and take your place among those who have helped shape our past, creating our future.