Recently I had the opportunity to sit down (or at least have a phone call) with our new VLTA President, Julie Rutledge. I wanted to discuss her new role and how her first few weeks at the helm are going.
For those of you who do not know, Julie has been a member of VLTA and the Board for a number of years. She has served in many capacities, including as Editor of The Examiner Magazine and as Treasurer. Her loyalty to VLTA is clear and convincing. We are lucky to have her as our President.
We discussed her upcoming term and her hopes for the next year. Her first order of business is likely the same for all new Presidents – learning the new responsibilities, getting settled and organized, and ensuring that the Board of Directors, committees and staff have what they need to accomplish their tasks.
President Rutledge has several goals for her term. The first is to continue the work that President Meloon started with the Workforce Development Taskforce. Julie is going to create a system of mentorship within the Taskforce in order to create an environment where experience can be shared with those that are new to our business. Julie hopes her work over the next year on the workforce will continue into the future. Along these same lines, President Rutledge will work with Stewart ‘Skip’ Sacks, VLTA At-Large-Director, to begin the development of a formal leadership path that will focus on training the next group of VLTA leaders in our association.
In addition to workforce issues, Julie is working with Skip Sacks on a rewrite of VLTA Bylaws. They will be taking a careful look into our policies and procedures, along with a team of volunteers, in order to update and modify the Bylaws as needed. This will create a solid foundation for the future. Finally, Julie is re-activating executive committees and really tapping into the Past-President’s Council to ensure we learn from the past as we move into the future.
President Rutledge has her work cut out for her. The pandemic continues to be an issue and VLTA has to be ready to stay virtual and still deliver a quality product to its membership. I can think of no one who can do it better! We look forward to the next year with Julie at the helm.
Donald W. Tomlinson
Don currently serves on the VLTA Board of Directors as the Director/Editor of the Examiner Magazine. Don received his B.A/B.S degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College and earned his J.D. law degree from George Mason University Scholl of Law. Don is Regional Vice President/Attorney for RGS Title in the northern Virginia area.
