President's Message

Springing Into Summer

Another typical spring in Wisconsin and just when we get spoiled with some warm dry weather, it turns around to cold damp days reminiscent of early April.  I think the weather has had a direct impact on both the Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers as they both have had more cold streaks than warm!  By the time this is out in print, the weather should be warmed up comfortably, the gardens in, and the laborious, continuous task of weeding has commenced.  Hopefully we receive some regular precipitation to keep things alive and maturing at a steady pace.  The good news is that it won’t seem long and we can put things back into winter mode!  Yes, if you forgot, I do like winter.  I guess the downside to that is my term as WWOA President is well over half way done. 

From message to message it really is amazing all the events that have taken place.  The spring round of regional meetings have come and gone and you can now look to schedule the summer and fall training events.  (As a reminder, all these training events are listed on the WWOA website in the training calendar.)

I’ve managed to take in a few of the regional meetings and I have been very impressed on the speakers and topics each region has put together for their programs.  If you get the opportunity, I highly recommend you take some time to meet and thank your regional officers.  They have stepped up to put the extra time and commitment to keep opportunities available to not only those within their region but also from other regions.  Along the same lines, if you are at a meeting and happen to see a new face, welcome them and take some time to pass along what the organization offers its members.  I might sound like a broken record (or scratched CD for those in my era) but remember, the friends you make through the organization will stand with you for your entire career.  You never know when you might need some operational advice, assistance, or maybe even something picked up and delivered by a friend in a distant community (right Mr. Bond!).  The rewards of knowing friends like this are priceless.

Have I mentioned that we will be celebrating 50 years of the organization at the conference in October?  You should have received or will be receiving shortly, the conference information and registration booklet.  A few changes you may want to note and pay attention to is the option of a single day conference registration.  We hope that this allows some flexibility to those that can’t commit to being gone from their operations for multiple days.  To commemorate the special anniversary, a special edition polo shirt with 50th logo will be available to pre-order.  Look for the order information in the conference mailer or on the WWOA website.  Reserve your commemorative shirt today! 

Wade Peterson has done an outstanding job organizing and directing the special 50th committee to make sure the conference will truly be special to honor the history of this great organization!  If you have ever thought about partaking in any of the pre-conference outings (golf, sporting clays, bike), this would be the year you may want to get out there and socialize with your fellow members as special things are being arranged to accompany the recognition of the anniversary!  Check out each events special registration page for more information.

The host hotel, the Radisson, has been full for a while now and several more local hotels have made rooms available for a WWOA group rate.  Some of those added do include shuttles to the La Crosse Center.  For the accommodations that do not provide a shuttle, a bussing schedule has been arranged and can be found in the conference informational packet. 

What else special is coming for the 50th?  You might just want to get registered now to ensure you find out!  Until next time, I hope everyone is able to get out and enjoy abundance of summer opportunities throughout the state!

WWOA President, Lyle Lutz