Chas.
TSRA Sportsman wrote:It is hard to believe, but on July 31st I will have been serving as TSRA Executive Director for one year. When I came on board, TSRA past President Doug Moreland had been donating his time as the Acting Executive Director for many months and his lovely wife “MR” also volunteered to serve our Association. TSRA had recently completed to move to our Austin office and to some extent we were still living out of boxes.
Much has changed in the last year. All of the boxes have been unpacked, the staff is getting used to living in or around Austin and we have had a lot of elected officials stop by the office “just to say hello.” When the 2011 Texas legislative session begins in January, additional benefits of your Association having its office in Austin will be realized.
But locale is not the only change TSRA has seen in the last year. When I became Executive Director, the Officers and Executive Committee were committed to revamping and modernizing TSRA’s operations so that it can be a better steward of our Members’ dues money and donations. Below are a few examples of the programs and procedures I was able to create over the last year.
The TSRA Alamo Society is a new donor program to help with funding of TSRA operations with regular monthly donations. With the support of our Members, the Alamo Society will continue to grow and enable TSRA to increase its presence and impact on the various shooting activities in Texas.
The TSRA Volunteer Corps was created to support the numerous TSRA activities throughout the State. This program harnesses the talent and expertise of our Members who donate their time to various TSRA programs. If we were talking about military operations, the Volunteer Corps is truly a “force multiplier.”
The TSRA website has made a quantum leap in terms of both appearance and functionality and many more changes are on the way. In fact, barely a year after our radically new website was introduced, work is already underway to launch a new TSRA website that will incorporate additional features not available even a few months ago.
These are examples of changes our members can see, but there are others that have occurred behind the scene. These involve changes in office procedures, outsourcing some tasks to cut costs, and other improvements are being developed. You can be assured that TSRA is always looking for ways to better and more efficiently serve our Members.
As many of you know, I am an attorney and have served as a volunteer legislative counsel for TSRA for over twenty five years. When I took the position of TSRA Executive Director on August 1, 2009, I also began a leave of absence from my law firm. It is time for me to return to my law firm, so with the completion of my contract as Executive Director on July 31st, I will return to the practice of law and to my role as a volunteer attorney assisting Alice Tripp, TSRA Legislative Director and the TSRA Legislative Committee.
It has been an honor to serve as TSRA Executive Director and I look forward to many more years serving our Association in the legislative arena. I trust you will continue to support TSRA and our programs and goals; together we can continue to make a difference for Texas gun owners as we have for decades.
Regards,
Charles L. Cotton
TSRA Executive Director
Thank you for a whole yr of volunteer work & job well done.
