Organizational Context
I am the first two-year president that we have had in TCWSE. I was asked to continue in the president’s office for an extra year because of a large transition that needed leadership with experience and know-how. I accepted that challenge and we made it through the maze of changes and have continued on to success at the present time. The challenges we faced were to get the constitutional updates and changes accomplished. We did manage to get those areas changed and voted on by the necessary group.
A Time of Change and Challenge
It seems that we always have membership as one of our major goals. I concentrated on getting more members by inviting more professors back into TCWSE and by reaching out to female superintendents who could provide valuable support and mentoring for our aspiring school administrators and current administrators. This focus meant that TCWSE made a significant logistical and strategic change to move the date of our annual conference and attached it to TASA’s Midwinter Conference date. Moving to the January venue attracted participants who could then save time, travel, and expenses.
The second significant change implemented during my tenure was the rebirth of TCWSE’s professional publication. I had been heartbroken over the demise of our TCWSE Monograph and felt that we simply had to get our professional publication resurrected and up and going again on a regular schedule. The publication had been part of our heart and soul for years. I formed a committee that worked for a year on the idea, and then in the second year of my term we were able to actually breathe life into the idea.
Genie Linn agreed to take on the huge job and went to work. She and I worked hand in hand as she labored with dedication and purpose for this most important project. She did a remarkable job and I will praise her forever. With the technology skills and talents of Karen Saunders, TCWSE was able to publish the Journal of Texas Women School Executives as an online journal, available nationally and internationally. WOW! This team worked diligently through upsets, setbacks, and disappointments. However, we did it! TCWSE launched the first edition of the Journal of Texas Women School Executives at the January Midwinter conference as a final act of my two-year presidency.
Appreciation
Leading this organization through these growing pains and challenges and just plain old hard work, tons of time, and tedious details was indeed arduous. However, we all came out alive, and what doesn’t kill us makes us wiser! Our officers and board really worked hard and spent many hours working during this stressful time. Together we learned techniques and trained ourselves to look at life and our circumstances in a positive way. We helped each other to relax and think happy thoughts every day. We used patience and our sense of humor. We dared to take the risks we needed to take. We had a good role model in Margret Montgomery, our founder back the middle 1980s.
Lessons for the Future
Our organization has done well. Some say we are lucky, but our success has nothing to do with luck. Good fortune does not come to us; we go to it by taking risks. Life is all about taking risks. We willingly take chances every day. We want to pass this on to our women who are coming into TCWSE and to those who have been with us for a while. What separates achievers from the rest of “the herd” is their willingness to take optional as well as necessary risks.
Courage to take risks comes from a clear vision of self and others with a commitment to significant purpose. TCWSE members support each other in finding the courage to sustain our personal and professional life missions.
A Little Laugh and a Lot of Love
So there you have it in a nutshell. I have tried to keep this short, but I have always been a woman with a lot to say. Maybe Desi would say to me, “Lucy…you have some splaining to do!”
Much love and affection to Margret for founding TCWSE! Once a TCWSE member, always a TCWSE member! I pledge my heart, my passion, my time and love to all who have gone before me and all those who come behind me. We have some bravehearted women among us!
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