Board of Directors – Rocky Mountain APPA

Message from the RMA President

Hello Rocky Mountain APPA,

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for selecting me as your new RMA president. I am excited to lead our organization and look forward to the upcoming year. Isn’t the new RMA website fantastic? Thank you, Rachel Stone, for making this site so user-friendly and just nice to look at and visit!

I would like to encourage you to concentrate on your own professional development this year, as well as your staff’s. 2017 is the perfect time to invest in your organization with the wide variety of options that are offered through RMA and APPA. I hope that each of your institutions/school districts will consider working with other local institutions to host training sessions like APPA’s Supervisor Toolkit, the Leadership Academy, and Drive-In Workshops. RMA offers subsidies to members for the Supervisor’s Toolkit and the Leadership Academy trainings on campus, and partnering with RMA’s local/national business partners is a great way to host Drive-in Workshops on your campus too. Also, look for RMA’s state chapter meetings as a means for low or no-cost training opportunities. Off the top of my head I know COAPPA has their first annual meeting coming up in April and WYOAPPA’s meeting is in June. Don’t forget to have your staff apply for RMA scholarships (due by February 15, 2017) to attend APPA U and upcoming RMA conferences. Professional development training has never been more affordable!

I would also like to challenge each of you, especially the leaders and managers of our organizations, to obtain your EFP/CEFP certifications with our RMA subsidy. Online training courses make it easier than ever to pursue this opportunity.

Please ask your staff to sign up for our RMA 14ers Club (mentoring program) – why not make it one of your requirements to attend RMA conferences and the APPA U? Also, please consider becoming a 14er either as a mentor or mentee and look into APPA’s new mentoring program.

Rocky Mountain APPA may be small compared to other regions, but we are powerful! We are dedicated to our region and this has been demonstrated by our voting in elections, our commitment to EFP/CEFP training and certification, and recognition by APPA as a leader in certification. We are powerful because of you and your involved membership. I task each of you to reach out to one your colleagues or institutions within your state who are not currently members. Let them know how much RMA and APPA have been instrumental in your career and have helped your institution. By doing so, you may be that personal touch that was needed to get them to join.

Thank you for your support and the opportunity to lead RMA.

Lisa Potter, CEFP

RMA President

University of Colorado Boulder