From Our WMCA President
Hello WMCA Members,
Thank you for trusting me with this role as your President. I am excited, deeply humbled, and extremely nervous to serve in this capacity. It has been a quite journey to get here and I am forever grateful for all the lessons this journey has taught me.
November 1, 2021, I began my journey into Clerk World and had no knowledge of what being a municipal clerk entailed so I studied everything...every manual, every state statute, every training guide, registered for every training, and joined as many clerk-related committees as I possibly could.
This journey has taught me that self-doubt was okay to have, your colleague’s skepticism of your ability to lead was okay, not knowing the process and making mistakes were okay, but giving up was never okay. I took all the culminated doubt from all around me and used them as fuel in my motivation tank and pressed on.
This journey placed remarkable people in my life–people like Anne Uecker, Joan Andrusz, Biana Shaw, Janis Bates, Dr. Jai Ulrich, Kelly Meyer, Cindi Gamb, and my Village Manager, Rebecca Ewald, who’ve all helped me to see that I've always possessed the visionary, resilient ability to lead; I just had to believe in myself and valued my worth.
To the full WMCA Board and committee chairs, your behind-the-scenes collaborative work has made a significant impact on my professional growth. To all who’ve volunteered their time and talents to serve on our committees, I appreciate you for all your compassionate labor of love in keeping this organization connected. Your efforts will never go unnoticed by me. I look forward to continuing to work alongside such a dedicated group of professionals.
Thank you to my husband who is my rock, my life-partner, and my greatest cheerleader. Thank you for your unwavering love and support. I truly could not have made it to this point without you by my side.
To my amazingly intelligent, multitasking, problem solving, hardworking, dedicated, strong, good troublemaking clerks, each of you play a pivotal role in keeping our local governments running with integrity, professionalism, and excellence. Whether a veteran clerk or one who is new to your role, WMCA should be a source of motivation, support and encouragement for all and I will lead in providing that to you.
We can only provide the best of ourselves when we are at our best and as we look towards the upcoming year, my focus as your President will be on you in making sure you are taking care of yourselves so that you functioned at your very best, because you matter. I promise to listen to your needs, advocate loudly for you and lead with the same level of professionalism you all bring to your communities daily.
Thank you again for this incredible honor.
I’m excited about our journey together.
Toya Harrell
President, Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association (WMCA)
