Update from TACCA Executive Director - Sept 2020

So far, it has been a doozy of a year. Raging wildfires, earthquakes, record heat, hurricanes, protests and rioting, political division, economic uncertainty, and a global pandemic. Whew! That's enough to make anyone feel a little unsettled. Many of us have gone through a range of emotions including concern, stress, unease, distractedness, and quite frankly, boredom. Some of us have been greatly affected by the events of the last few months, and some have hardly felt the impact. Some of us helped our children or grandchildren through school last year and are now trying to figure out what is best for our families as school has started back up with options for in-person and virtual learning. Plans and goals have been disrupted, not only for me and for TACCA, but for our members and their businesses. 2020 has been a tough year.

Yet, when I see drive-by birthday parades, a drive-thru graduation celebration or baby shower, or a local DJ who puts on a fun, family-friendly, online dance party every Saturday to raise funds for Feeding America or a local charity, or when a small group of people learn that students at a low-income school are starting school at home without everything they need, and quickly organize a successful school supply and food drive, it’s easier to let that concern, stress, unease, and boredom transform into hope and excitement for the future. And maybe give a little leeway for those missed goals.

Here are some of TACCA's activities for this quarter:

• Completed a website redesign including a new resources tab and several new pages of content - Associate Member Directory, TACCA's Story (history), TACCAPAC, and Member Benefits Program. Take a look around the site.
• Co-hosted an HR Best Practices webinar with TACCA Greater San Antonio, which is available to view here.
• Published the 2020-2021 Member Directory which was sent out to members in September.
• Cancelled 20 continuing education and exam prep classes in March, April, May and June, as well as the 2020 Annual Conference that was planned for October. TACCA has resumed all scheduled classes as well as hosting new virtual continuing education classes for contractors who are unable to attend in-person classes.
• Observed the TDLR ACR Contractors Advisory Board meeting where there was discussion to move to 2018 versions of Manual D, J, and S, and an overview of the Sunset Review staff report. Following the meeting, TDLR announced the proposed rules change to move to the 2018 versions and TACCA published the opportunity to comment to members.
• Participated in a Texas Workforce Coalition meeting to discuss discretionary emergency relief funds available under the CARES Act that could be granted for workforce development.
• Signed onto several letters prepared by ACCA to help ensure HVAC contractors were treated as essential service providers and to support timely response for relief.
• The TACCA board of directors participated in virtual leadership training and a board meeting.
• An exhaustive review of the bylaws was completed and proposed amendments were approved in August.
• Starting to identify topics for the 2021 CE course.

If you have any questions or would like more information on any of TACCA's activities, please contact me anytime. 

Truly,

Devorah Jakubowsky, CAE

Executive Director