| November 2007 | |
Association finishes fiscal year back in black
One of the most boring things TPA officers have to do each year is attend the budget and audit meetings. Boring not because accounting and numbers can put you to sleep. Boring because the association has so few financial challenges. The executive board recently reviewed the annual audit, and the bottom line — our association added $57,000 to the books last year. In other words, it was a good year. And not just because we added a few dollars to the bank account. It marked the first time in a number of years that we completed a year in the black, rather than the red. For those who haven’t been aware of the financial situation at TPA in the past several years, let me review. The legacy of our former executive director Lyndell Williams was an association with considerable financial strength. All of us can be grateful for Lyndell’s careful stewardship of the association’s money. Because what he left us, more importantly than just dollars on a balance sheet, was the ability to invest in member services at an unprecedented level. OK, it was a little bit of fun, too, somewhat like spending someone else’s money. But this was no unchecked spending spree with the inheritance from a long-lost aunt. These dollars were invested into carefully planned programs designed to give TPA members the ability to learn as much as they wanted or needed about their business. And everything I have heard from members in recent years tells me these calculated plans have been an unqualified success. But at the same time all of us recognized that such deficit budgeting could not go on indefinitely. And so the reins have been pulled in slowly, with the result that we again have a positive cash balance at the end of a fiscal year. And yet, in my estimation, we have not seen a significant reduction in services to members. The staff, through direction from the members, board of directors and officers, has worked very hard to maintain a balance between fiscal responsibility and responsibility to members to deliver needed services. In case you’ve been under a rock in recent years, please visit the TPA Web site to refresh yourself about the myriad opportunities available to you and members of your staff. From continuing education to resources, TPA is there for all of us to help us do a better job.
For my money, that’s what association membership is all about, and I cannot imagine any association doing a much better job than what the Texas Press Association has been doing for many decades — especially at the bargain rate a membership costs. There’s a reason all but a handful of the more than 500 newspapers in this state carry a TPA membership. So we can hope that the semiannual budget and audit meetings for the officers continue to be boring far into the future. If you’ve ever been associated with an organization in financial trouble, I’m sure you’ll agree. We have enough challenges in our industry without having to worry about TPA’s fund balance. It’s good to know those dollars are there to help us if we need them. Again, if you have any concerns about these or other TPA matters, I hope you will let us know.
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