Chapter Treasurer’s Report. Looking Back and Looking Forwards.

By Wil Kolb

 

$2.20 would have bought you a filet mignon at a steakhouse in New York City (NYC) around 1921. Anyone know why that date was important? Hint: Our yearly dues were only $2 when the American Women’s Physical Therapeutic Association was founded in 1921 at Keens Chophouse in NYC, according to the APTA centennial site at https://centennial.apta.org/centennial-timeline/. As we look forward to a bright future in physical therapy and our centennial, I would like to take a moment to look back and then forward for APTA VA. 

 

In my four short years as your chapter treasurer, we have seen a shift in the organization from large, expensive face-to-face meetings to smaller-sized brief opportunities for networking. This realization has caused some major shifts in how we budget each year. We have also realized that our organization needs to be quicker to respond to opportunities and seek out ways to provide personalized value to its members. I value the time I spend with face-to-face networking and learning from and advocating with other Virginians for physical therapy. Although necessary as a professional duty, I receive little value or enjoyment from long business meetings.

 

$62 will buy you a filet mignon at Keens Chophouse in NYC today. As the chapter treasurer is leader of the newly revitalized Finance Committee, I would like to thank all our district treasurers for stepping up this budget season. The many hours the committee spent vetting out the budget in these uncertain financial times allowed the directors meeting to flow smoothly. Although there were budget items that were contested, as there always will be, more members now have working knowledge of the entire chapter budget. This will continue to pay it forward for our organization as we develop a communal understanding that all our funds are now together for the benefit of professional advocacy for all members. Looking forward to the next 100 years!