EMBRACING CHANGE

Carolyn Sutton OMEA Executive Director

After a summer to recharge and refect on the changes we have endured, OMEA is ready to face this new year with a fresh perspective and renewed energy to adapt.

OMEA is making sure we stay fnancially secure through this year by freezing our budget as much as possible. The executive board worked through our fscal year budget carefully to scrutinize where we could cut back in order to preserve our savings and weather a year without an in-person conference or All-State. For example, we will hold all of our board meetings virtually and we are not printing hard copies of our journal or spending money on postage to mail them.

In June, several of our executive board members and I attended a virtual NAfME National Assembly and Hill Day, which is typically held in Washington, D.C. The best part of this conference is the chance to connect and converse with fellow state executives and share ideas. The focus of most conversations centered around virtual conferences and how we can adapt to the changes due to the pandemic. The feeling of unity was felt more than ever; everyone everywhere is struggling to adjust and adapt.

There will be many things we will miss this year, but in this change new ideas will arise. OMEA has been a fxture in our state for decades, and has many traditions, but I encourage you all to embrace some new ideas and be willing to be fexible. We will do our best to get as close to “normal” as we can with the events we support this year, but it will be diferent. We encourage you to provide a positive energy to your students and fellow colleagues, and to participate in as many events as you can. Our students are counting on us to keep moving forward.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fghting the old, but on building the new.”

- Socrates