The Annual meeting was held in Spokane WA 27-30 September. NLC Workgroups and summary reports represent a significant amount of the content provided during this meeting.
The National Leadership Council (NLC) is made up of volunteers from 36 states. Its role is to provide direction to TU National from the membership via the state councils. Individual workgroups focus on two categories of issues:
- Conservation
- Organizational
Two of the NLC workgroup meetings held during the annual session were of special interest to GRTU members.
First, the NLC Youth Education Workgroup discussed recent concerns about participant behavior at youth events and liability concerns. Further, TU Legal guidance and policy is to be developed over the next few months.
The importance of the GRTU Tomorrow Fund was highlighted by Franklin Tate (TU National Director Headwaters Youth Program) as being instrumental in the success of TU youth efforts. Our chapter’s ten year commitment will be up for renewal in several years. It is clear that there is a lot of interest in continuing this funding.
The discussion during the NLC New Initiatives Workgroup included several relevant areas of interest. Workgroup efforts will be focused on consideration and updating of the National Conservation Agenda. The NCA is an important foundational strategic position document for TU National.
Another area of interest was the expected establishment of a dedicated workgroup for Priority Waters. The group will provide education and clarity to address recent confusion about the process and funding.
As a chapter, GRTU has built a reputation at the NLC level through the contributions of our past representatives and dedicated funding efforts. There is a great opportunity to continue these efforts moving forward.
