BY: Ann Kulikoff
As we find ourselves in a year unlike any other, there is no question that there have been many changes and challenges in the world. Our daily lives have been altered as we have all felt the impacts of COVID19. The only difference is the varying degrees this situation has affected everyone. I hope that you are all doing well under these difficult circumstances. As with all difficult and challenging situations we learn to build resilience to get us through. I encourage our members to reach out to your right of way network in the IRWA. The IRWA is a great resource for our members and connecting with others in our profession.
We are so fortunate to have such an extensive knowledge base in the Chapter 1 membership. In addition, this Board’s combined experience is a great representation of our membership and of the right of way industry. I am proud and grateful to serve with the 2020/2021 Board http://irwa1.org/executive-board/. It has been a humbling experience to see the increase in volunteers given that it was not expected with all the challenges this year. Thank you all for your commitment to support our members & Chapter 1, I look forward to our year together.
Given the ongoing changes with the restrictions and guidelines one thing is certain, we all have had to adapt quickly to change. It has required us to look for ways to be creative and remain fluid to carry out our work and all other daily activities. I recommend you check out the Right of Way Magazine, in the current July/August 2020 edition you will find many helpful tips and pertinent industry information.
Our fiscal year with our new Board commenced on July 1, 2020. Previous years we typically start off with our Past President’s Luncheon followed by a Fall Seminar. However, with COVID19 all in-person gatherings were cancelled so we were unable to hold those events. We are working with Headquarters to try and put together 1 or 2 virtual forums as an opportunity to keep connected with our members.
As previously noted, a benefit of having access to so many Right of Way professionals in the Chapter is the networking. Although we are unable to meet in person you can always stay connected by reaching out via phone or email. Once we are permitted under the State regulations to meet in-person we will certainly be ready. I look forward to us being able to meet in person at least a couple of times this year. I am hopefully that we will get to hold a couple of in person events, we will keep you updated.
Providing Chapter Updates – We took into consideration how busy life gets along with the amount of time volunteers were spending compiling and sending out chapter information from various sources. We are working to get a more efficient and streamlined communication tool in place by using our Chapter website. You can now go directly to our Chapter 1 website to get the latest information http://irwa1.org/homepage/. Our Webmaster, Nick Szamet is continuing to work on streamlining and updating the website and notifications.