UNICO

Messages
ComUNICO
4
NATIONAL
PRESIDENT
A message
from
Dr. Ann Walko
We had another successful Convention
in beautiful Newport Beach,
California! My thanks to all who attended
to the many details that go
into coordinating a Convention and
to all attendees who were declared
the “stars” at the Gala for their humanitarian
efforts throughout the
year. It is my hope that everyone had
a good time, as we had some fun in
the sun, as well as conducting the
business of UNICO. Know that I appreciated
everything that was done
to make this a memorable experience.
Congratulations to all of the
award and scholarship recipients.
All were deserving of our recognition.
Best wishes to the Officers now
in place to prepare for a year of “Action,
Accountability, Communication
and Change” and ready to build
a UNICO team.
Now our work must begin.
Changes have to be made in order
for our organization to grow. This is
the year in which we must be determined
and assertive in terms of how
we do our UNICO business. We need
to become the “movers and shakers”
of UNICO and become a movement
for action. We need to deliver a
“New UNICO” to our own members
and present ourselves to a wider audience
to attract new members. Then
we must nurture all of our Chapters,
so that they remain viable entities!
We need to engage members in our
change process.
We must build sustainability
into our programming and we need
to do this by raising the bar in terms
of how we operate. We need to become
more creative, because we cannot
continue as we now exist. We
need to develop more interaction
between our Chapters and Districts
and more interaction with National,
with all of us working together in
a common cause. We need to think
“out of the box”, become more computer
literate and we need to put
ourselves in a position to increase
our membership. We need to motivate
and engage new members in
what we do. We need to work on retention.
Above all, we need to create
an atmosphere where people will
want to come and enjoy what we
have to offer.
Public Relations and Communication
will help us reach those who
have not joined our wonderful family
of volunteers. We need to flood
the market with what we do and tap
into areas not explored. Membership
and Retention and Expansion needs
to be our focus each and every year,
therefore, developing an effective
public relations and communication
program will help us in these areas.
We need to have accountability
inserted into our daily business.
We need to know what works and
what is not working. Everyone must
be involved in this process so that
we can show results. This will help
us with our Public Relation efforts.
We must become a “UNICO think
tank” and monitor where we have
been, where we are now so that we
can carve out a path as to where we
need to go! This takes work and this
administration will be a working
one and one that is sensitive to the
needs of the members. We need to
know what you need and help you
in your quest to remain successful.
Accountability is the glue to commitment
and results. It means that
everyone must do his or her part.
Reporting out is going to be a necessary
part of solving problems that
plague our organization. We will
seek solutions to eliminate the roadblocks
to our advancement.
First, we must change our
mindsets, change is going to be
essential and working together
will move us forward. Don’t fight
change…it will happen….and we
will be better for it!
Recognition is a necessary component,
Members, Chapters, and
Districts need to be cited for the
good work they do. We need to focus
on our strengths and determine our
September 2015
weaknesses. We must challenge members
to do more and increasing our
membership will help us do more. We
must commit to lead, to share, and
collaborate. Helen Keller said “that
alone we can do so little, but together
we can do so much.”
This year we have to move fast, we
need to have a positive mindset, we
need to exhibit a can do atmosphere,
accept no excuses as to why we cannot
move forward. We will strive for
excellence in all we do, while we
model the five pillars that guide this
organization: Unity, we must work
together, neighborliness, maintain
our integrity by doing what is right
because it is the right thing to do,
continue our charitable endeavors,
and provide our members with opportunities
to lead and be engaged in
what we do. We must put aside our
personal agendas and work in unison
to get the job done. Together we can
be the force to turn the tide of complacency
into positive activity.
Please take a moment to read the
text of the plan that has been outlined
for this body in the President’s
Newsletter which will be coming
out shortly. Through the open door
policy which will be instituted,
share with me your concerns and
your ideas to move us into more
deeply into the 21st century. I asked
you in one of my campaign speeches
to close your eyes and imagine what
UNICO is today and what it could
become tomorrow. Close your eyes
and imagine what we can do for
UNICO when we work together!
You have placed your faith in
me to lead. I am looking forward to
working with you so that we can
grow and flourish and do what we
do best, to work in the best interest
of our organization and making
life a little bit better for others. I am
looking forward to meeting you at as
many of your meetings and events as
humanly possible.
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity
to serve and God Bless you
for all that you do. Here’s to a successful
and productive year!
UNICO National