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Message to Section Leaders

Congratulations on your selection as an ISA Section leader, and thank you for accepting this important position of leadership! A goal of ISA is to provide you with the resources and tools you’ll need for a successful year. We sincerely hope that you will come to the end of your term feeling rewarded and that your time was well invested.

Knowing where to find the information and resources you need is a big part of getting the job done. During your Section’s Orientation Session for incoming leaders, you probably learned where to find ISA Section Leader Resources on the web…. And, hopefully, you have your action plan for the coming year in place. Just in case, here is some useful information.

All ISA Section Leader Resources are together online. It might be helpful to print this page and then read and follow along online…. Go to www.isa.org and login. Follow this path from the ISA home page: Left navigation bar, select General Information>Society Leader Resources> Section. Still in the left bar, you can see a number of headers. Following is a sampling of what is covered under each heading:

• AdminForms/Guides – Enrollment Form; Section Performance Award Forms; PDH certificate template; letterhead and newsletter template, Quarterly Report Form, Section Supplies Order Form, and more.
• Editor Resources – Provides access to articles, ads, logos, and more for use in your newsletter and web page. Useful excerpts from The Condensed Handbook of Measurement & Control, 2 nd Edition are posted, along with certification questions published in InTech.
• Formation Kit – Provides direction for getting a Section organized, operational, and chartered. It isn’t just for a Section in Formation, however. Sometimes a chartered Section runs on hard times – even becomes Inactive. The information contained here can provide direction for reactivation.
• Section Leaders’ BRIEF – Past newsletters are archived, and specific content with current relevance is noted. Some procedures and processes have not changed over the years, making these newsletters an excellent resource. You will see several articles posted for 2009 that will be of particular interest.
• Meeting Programs – As your team develops its programming for the coming year, you may fine this area quite useful. The archived technical web seminars are a good choice for Section meetings. Or you can offer preparatory sessions for ISA certification exams. Be sure to check out the co-sponsored training option.
• Officer/Chair Guides – Guidelines for each Section position are posted here. Each coded leader received an email thanking them for serving and directing them to this area of the web. Files used by various Sections are posted with a few positions for your use, if desired.
• Reports and Rebates – There are 14 Section Reports, plus the Rebate Reports, available online. These coded leaders may access the Section Reports: President, Secretary, Membership Chair, Newsletter Editor, and Web Master. Included among the reports is the current roster, which shows Active, Active Grace, and New members for the month. You will find a Suspended Members Report that includes those who left ISA up to five years ago. These are real-time reports, so you may want to save a copy of the roster each month for future reference.
  
  To download a report, look across the top of the report and use the drop-down menu at Select a Format (recommend Excel). Then, to the right select Export. At this point you can open and review the file before saving, or simply save the file. On the Reports and Rebates page, under Section Reports (Regular & Student), you will find the Section Rebates. Access is available to the coded President, Treasurer, and Membership Chair. Reports for the past year are available.
• Recursos - This page is for our Spanish -speaking Section leaders.
• Section Library – Guidance for running your Section can be found in the library. Job descriptions for Section positions are housed here.

The Branding and Marketing materials online can be accessed easily. Go to the Society Leader Resources page (path listed above) and scroll down the page to Branding and Marketing. You will find templates and guidelines available for your use, including easy access to the ISA logo. You also can access these same files from the Section Resources page – Admin Forms/Guides: letterhead, agenda, and e-mail templates, for example.

While you are on the Society Leader Resources page, note that you can access the two Leaders Meetings information pages (spring/summer and fall), all Society Committee, Council, and Board meeting minutes, and the MOP – Manual of Organization and Procedures – for the District, Department, and Executive Boards.

If planning has not been accomplished for the coming year, do it now. You can choose an in-depth SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) – see the PowerPoint Presentation on the Leader Training page (Society Leader Resources>Leader Training). On this page, scroll down to the PowerPoint Presentations and look under Section Operations and Communications, OR use the Section Annual Planning tools under Documents on the Admin Forms/Guides page. If you make your plan and work your plan – you’re bound to have a productive year! And remember to apply for the Section Performance Award (SPA) by 1 June next year. You could earn $500 for your Section and recognition at the annual Honors & Awards Gala. The SPA forms and guidelines are also among the Admin Forms/Guides.

If you have not submitted the names of your leaders for the coming year, please do it now. Leader terms generally end 30 June each year. To enable basic communication, for those Sections without new leaders for the coming year as of 30 June ISA extends the President and Treasurer thru 30 September. If no leaders are submitted by 30 September, the Section will be coded Inactive. Even if you have no changes in leadership, you need to confirm to headquarters your leaders for the coming year. This is one of the annual checks made to assure that the Section is active and our coding is current for leaders. The form for submitting leaders is online under Admin Forms/Guides. Look under Admin Forms/Guides for the Requirements for an Active Section.

Before you logoff, take a minute to look under Society Leader Resources and review the Leadership Development Certificate Program. The program is provided to extend your knowledge and increase your effectiveness as a leader. You can complete the requirements at your personal convenience, but within a two-year time period. Participation will sharpen current leadership skills and add new ones.

Keep your District VP aware of your activity by completing and submitting the Section Quarterly Report Form regularly.

Don’t know your District?
Check out the District maps. Sections in each District are listed.

If there is anything you need that staff can help with, we want to hear from you. One of us alone doesn’t have all the answers, but ISA has a knowledgeable staff to back us up.

Find a staff contact for Regular Sections and Districts