This year, Watauga Counseling Association began with many new goals and a vision for a bigger chapter and more active members. Our first meeting of the year, September 27th, was the exciting beginning to a new year. At our last 2006 meeting, we had 8 members in attendance. However, at this first meeting of 2007 we had 39 in attendance, and almost half were new members. Many of our new members are at the graduate level and are excited to be a part of their professional organization. Our next business meetings are planned for November 29, 2007, January 31st, 2008 and April 24, 2008.

One of our goals at LDC was to provide literature and information to local counselors regarding the opportunity WCA provides to make community contacts and begin networking. As a result, a brochure was created and distributed to the local school, marriage and family, and community mental health counselors which outlined the benefits of joining their local chapter of the American Counseling Association. This brochure was also distributed to the East Tennessee State University Masters of Counseling students. Also, a flyer advertising the benefits of WCA was created and distributed at community mental health facilities and private practices as well as on campus of ETSU.

Work started right after LDC on contacting an impressive line up of speakers for our WCA Spring Workshop. We have been in contact with members of the counseling community to speak at our April event. Our Spring Workshop, on the campus of ETSU, is typically on a Friday. This year, we are encouraging attendance by offering this workshop on a Saturday so attendees will not have to miss work or school. Our aim is to focus our sessions on the field of counseling as a whole and not just school counseling, which often happens because a majority of WCA members ARE school counselors. This is changing as well! Many of our new members are marriage and family or community mental health counselors.

We hope this year will continue with the great promise with which it has begun!

Respectfully submitted,
Brooke Addison Britton, 2007/2008 co-president
Kellie Ross, 2007/2008 co-president