I think it is appropriate in the Chair Column to share some of the activities of the Board. The minutes, of course, are the record of the proceedings but cannot contain the depth of thought and energy present at an SAA Board meeting. I hope you read the minutes published in the Directory and realize that much discussion and consideration goes into motions and decisions.
Teri Einfeldt, Chair-elect, reminded us at our last meeting that our Mission—the focus of all we do—is children. Of course we all know this, but sometimes it is easy to put our focus on other things that are pressing at the moment. In all that we do, our focus should be on children and their families and our teachers.
We had a thought-provoking exercise at our recent meeting where I asked the Board to think what the SAA would do if it were given $1 million. In these economic times, it may seem like a dream, but there have been many boards of non-profit organizations that have received a large gift and were totally unprepared to know what to do with that gift.
The idea of receiving a large gift causes us to envision what the future might be for the SAA and to step back and discuss why the SAA is important. We have such a clear, strong vision that we began thinking how we can share that vision with other organizations, particularly with other talent education organizations. How the SAA can exchange and evolve in the process is an important idea.
The idea of marketing ourselves may seem overly business-like, but the SAA needs to reach out to market all that Talent Education has to offer. Our previous chair, Paul Salerni, continually challenged the Board to focus on encouraging more universities to embrace long-term teacher training programs. Marketing takes money, but used correctly, can reap benefits for our children and teachers.
The use of technology cannot be overstated in our world today and the SAA needs to keep up to date as our members increasingly keep in touch with us via the web. We do an adequate job with our members, but need to find more ways to reach out to others. As the SAA has changed in scope and size we need to find ways to communicate more effectively with Suzuki parents and alumni. In a more global sense we need to communicate more effectively the importance of our mission to the world’s children.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have our own SAA headquarters in our own building? As we grow and change as an organization this becomes increasingly important. And as long as we’re dreaming, wouldn’t an SAA retreat center be a wonderful gathering place for committees, training and leadership development?
The SAA Board needs to become very proactive in friend raising and fund raising. There is a difference between members and owners. Members are those who have paid their dues and actually “belong” to the SAA. Owners are those who benefit from the activities of the SAA and this includes parents and alumni. We cannot be afraid to ask these owners to join in as friends to further the dreams of our organization. If you aren’t sure what the SAA does, look on the SAA website and see the ever-changing role of the SAA in our world and what it does not only for children, but for teachers and parents.
It is important for the SAA Board to look continually toward the future and ask the question, “What will the SAA look like in 20 years?” Hopefully, there will be many more friends on board to help support our outreach to more children, their families and our teachers. Don’t be afraid to ask others to participate as members and invite others who value the Suzuki philosophy to be friends.
