From the Executive Director
Walter Bacak, CAE
walter@atanet.org
The American Translators Association’s Board of Directors met April 22–23, 2017, in Alexandria, Virginia. The Board met in conjunction with the Certification Committee and Language Chairs meetings. (Each exam language combination has a language chair administering the passage selection and graders. ATA currently offers testing in 28 language combinations.)
Here are some highlights from the Board meeting.
Working Budget: The Board approved the July 1, 2017–June 30, 2018 working budget and the 2018–20 draft budgets. The approved budget of $3.22 million is a slight increase over the current budget of $3.19 million. The working budget provides an interim financial framework. By using this interim budget, changes and revisions can be made based on the actual year-end figures. The final budget will be approved at the next Board meeting.
Presentation of Candidates: The Nominating and Leadership Development Committee, chaired by Past President Dorothee Racette, presented the slate of candidates for this year’s elections for President-elect (two-year term) Ted Wozniak, for Secretary (one position, two-year term) Lois Feuerle and Karen Tkaczyk, for Treasurer (two-year term) John Milan, and for director (three positions, three-year terms): Jennifer Guernsey, Tony Guerra, Geoff Koby, Elena Langdon, Madalena Sánchez Zampaulo, and Kyle Vraa. (Please see the sidebar for more information.)
2022 Annual Conference Host Hotel: The Board approved the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles, California, as the host hotel for the 2022 ATA Annual Conference. The Conference schedule is: Washington, DC (2017), New Orleans, Louisiana (2018), Palm Springs, California (2019), Boston, Massachusetts (2020), and Minneapolis, Minnesota (2021).
Website: Following discussions at the winter Board meeting about the need to revise ATA’s website, the Board approved the establishment of an Ad Hoc Website Committee. The Board also approved the appointments of the committee members: Karen Tkaczyk (chair), Catherine Christaki, Michèle Hansen, Jamie Hartz, and Madalena Sánchez Zampaulo.
Certification: Certification Committee Chair David Stephenson briefed the Board on developments in the Certification Program. Highlights included the dramatic increase in the number of computerized exam sittings—and their success—and that the Chinese>English work group is just about ready to seek Board approval to offer Chinese>English certification.
Gode Medal Award Committee: The Board approved the appointment of the members of the 2017 Gode Medal Award Committee: Past President Nicholas Hartmann (chair), Past President Caitilin Walsh, President David Rumsey, Director Cristina Helmerichs, and Honors and Awards Committee Chair Lois Feuerle. The Gode Medal is ATA’s highest and most prestigious award that recognizes outstanding contributions to the translating and interpreting professions. (Nominations are still being accepted.)
The Board meeting summary and minutes will be posted online once they are approved. Past meeting summaries and minutes are always posted online at www.atanet.org/membership/minutes.php. The next Board meeting is set for July 29–30, 2017. The location is to be determined. As always, the meeting is open to all members, and members are encouraged to attend.
Candidates Announced
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