Change Makes Us Stronger

“It is not enough to be good if you have the ability to be better.”Alberta Lee Cox 

“Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind.To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse.To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better.To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.”King Whiteny Jr.  

The Idaho Sheriffs’ Association has experienced a significant amount of change and growth over the past year and a half. We started a strategic planning process, reorganized our organizational structure with new committees and agenda processes, created a marketing and fundraising position, and developed an increased focus on improving participation from all Sheriffs statewide.  Like all organizations in transition, these changes have not always been easy and at times have created some confusion and scheduling difficulties at our meetings. However, as your President, I can tell you the hard work will be worth it in the long run, as we build ISA into a smoothly operating, proactive organization with the strength of all its members behind us. I want to thank each of you for your patience and your ongoing help as we continue to work on making ISA the best organization it can be.

As we move forward, I also need to ask you for your personal commitment to ISA’s mission. Through the improvements we have made, ISA continues to have significant influence and to be involved in many important issues statewide that affect you and the citizens in your county. We need your continued input and we need you to continue to help ISA accomplish the goals we have set. As part of that, I am asking every one of you to recommit yourselves to some important actions that will help ISA:

·         Attendance at our quarterly meetings – We will be making many important decisions this year about the future of ISA, what we stand for, and what we want to accomplish as Sheriffs. We need you to be there to give input into those decisions.

·         Participation in the committees we have set up to help make ISA more efficient – The committee structure is working well but we need more participation, from getting your committee reports turned in, taking the time to read the reports when you receive them by email and making a point to come to the committee meetings. We will be expecting the committees to deal with more and more important ISA issues so your involvement is very important.

·         Stay informed of ISA business – We are moving to an almost entirely electronic system of communicating necessary information about ISA activities. That means you need to take the responsibility to read your email, respond when needed, and keep yourself informed about the important things we are involved in.  As President, I will do all I can to make sure we get the information out to you. I need you to do all you can to take the time to stay informed.

·         Help us keep our meetings on track – I know our last few meetings have been a bit hectic and we have experienced some scheduling difficulties. These have occurred because we are figuring out how to make our new committee process and meeting process work as efficiently as possible. We are in the process of revamping how our agenda is developed and communicated and we are working on some additional guidelines for presenters at our meetings. These things should help our meetings run smoother. You can do your part by understanding how important it is for us to stick to our timeline, start and end breaks on time, be where we need to be when we need to be there for meetings and stay focused on our business at hand. As President, I am not trying to “rule with an iron fist” but I do want to respect your time by making our meetings as smooth and as beneficial to you as they possibly can be.

In closing, I want to thank you each again for your input and support as we continue to improve ISA and make us an even stronger organization. We expect to see many more changes ahead this year that are intended to take ISA to the next level, moving us even further down the road of being an excellent organization with the Power of all Idaho Sheriffs uniting with one voice. These changes will make us stronger. Your participation will make it happen. I look forward to the road ahead!

Sheriff Dave Sanders

ISA President