February 2021
Howdy WHA Members!
With this new year comes new direction for the West Houston Association. In January we had two important planning meetings for the 2021 year, our annual Board Retreat and our Committee Leadership Meeting. The Board Retreat, held virtually for the first time ever, provided an opportunity to reflect on our vision and mission as we move forward into 2021 and beyond. We discussed WHA’s role as a convener and leader on issues facing West Houston as well as plans to grow WHA’s internal capacity such that we can continue to improve the quality of life across the region for years to come. Some of these conversations continued into the Committee Leadership meeting, where the focus was on increasing committee cohesion and capacity as well as the revamp of the Rising Leaders program.
Speaking of the Rising Leaders program, I am excited for the new and improved style that will be kicking off this April. Using a more structured approach, the program serves as an internal leadership accelerator by providing participants with information of WHA’s vision, mission and history, education on critical topics, introduction to experts in those fields, mentorship from current leaders, and opportunity to organize a WHA event. Over the course of eight months, participants will engage with each other to gain knowledge, skills, and resources so they can be active leaders within the West Houston Association as well as their personal and professional lives.
The Education and Workforce Committee recently convened a working group to examine workforce needs in the health and medical communities and explore how educational institutions at both the K-12 and college levels can help meet those needs. Meanwhile a combined group made up of members of both the Water Resources and Flood Control committees held a meeting to review and provide feedback on the recently released draft of the Cypress Creek Watershed Protection Plan, a collaborative effort with the Houston-Galeveston Area Council and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
With the Texas Legislative session starting up, we are hoping to see some movement on some of our Legislative Agenda items. However, with COVID still looming and potential State budget shortfalls, preservation of existing funds for West Houston’s flood control, mobility and education is critical.
We hope to see you at our virtual Look Ahead in Precinct 3 with Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey on February 11th, and we have more exciting events planned for later in the year.
Alan
P.S. If you have not yet seen the new Sustainable Infrastructure video, here it is!