April 1, 2010

Dear NSATA Membership:

I hope that this message finds you enjoying what will hopefully serve as the official beginning of a warmer spring- especially given the amount of snow and the seemingly endless days of cold we have endured this past winter!  I want to begin this initial message with several thank-you’s.  An enormous thank-you goes out to Rob Marshall for the leadership that he has provided this association for the past four years.  His vision for progressive changes within the NSATA has allowed us to place ourselves in a strategically advantageous position for the future challenges that we are sure to face.   I would next like to thank those of you that attended the District Meeting in Columbia.  We had 70+ NSATA members pre-register for the meeting and the over-all attendance at this meeting was over 600 people, which easily broke the attendance record.  Finally, I would like to take this moment to express to you how honored and humbled I am to be able to serve you, the members of the NSATA, as the President of this association.  I have been provided with the opportunity to serve as a member of the executive board for eight years prior to this and I must admit that at no time have I been more excited than I am now as I look forward to the next two years.

In looking ahead to the near future, the first task that the new executive board will undertake is to draft a 1-3-5 year plan that will address the items, events and challenges that lie ahead of our association.   Developing this plan will allow us to establish goals and objectives based on a clear and understood vision for the near future.  We will then make certain to communicate these objectives with you so that you have a clear understanding of what we see, where we are going and what we are hoping to accomplish.  As I stated at the meeting this past weekend- in looking at the three purposes identified within the Mission Statement of the NSATA, it is evident that a primary goal of the NSATA is to be membership centered.  If we are to be successful, we must not only remain membership centered, but we must also strive to be membership driven.   The success of this executive board and of this association will reflect and benefit more from the input and contributions of the NSATA membership than from the collective work of five Executive Board members.  That being said, I ask that you please communicate with us your thoughts, ideas, frustrations, concerns- anything that you feel needs to be brought to our attention.  Doing so will ensure the discussions that will ultimately lead to our decisions reflect consideration of as much information and input from the membership as possible.  

Some of the things that I feel deserve continued, renewed or closer attention at this point include:  

• Continued involvement and development of our students and young professionals. 

• An increased vigilance on the safety of the youth in sport.

• Continued involvement with and the fostering of relationships with other entities and organizations across the state.

• Continued monitoring of the legislative activity within the state and around the country.

• Ensuring fair practice opportunities for all NSATA members. 

• Enhanced communication with the membership and dissemination of information to other professions and individuals via the NSATA web-site www.nsata.org.

This certainly is not a detailed and exhaustive list of all that has been discussed, thought of or envisioned.  However, I think that it should provide a representative sampling of topics that we feel are deserving of our attention. 

As stated, I am extremely excited and proud to be a part of this association and to be an athletic trainer in the State of Nebraska.  Our previous leadership has provided us with a foundation upon which to grow over the next two years.  Your knowledge and input, combined with the outstanding individuals that I serve with on this executive board provide me with nothing but continued optimism as we move forward.  Please do not hesitate to contact any of us if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. 

Respectfully, 

Rusty McKune, ATC
President
Nebraska State Athletic Trainers’ Association