Washington State Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf

February 20, 2019

Greetings everyone! In my first official letter to the membership since being elected WSRID president and as the recipient of the 2018 Judy Husted Member of the Year award, I wish to extend a humble “thank you” to you all.

Many things have been happening since the beginning of the new year. I am forever grateful for the support that our Immediate Past President Paul Glaser has given, and continues to give, to WSRID. Thank You, Paul, for your dedication to the field of Sign Language Interpreting. You never cease to amaze me!

WSRID has the mission to educate, to support, and promote the RID certification of interpreters and to inform the general public about the interpreting profession.

Reflecting on the WSRID mission statement, I am pleased to announce that WSRID is making several changes on how we share information with the membership & the public. One of the biggest changes is the WSRID website. This has been a major project and is still being revamped by our Director Elizabeth Bass. Let's say “thank you” to Elizabeth for all her work. I invite you to check it out at wsrid.com. Revisit the website often to see how it evolves!

Other changes within the organization involve multiple board vacancies. After the Annual Membership meeting on November 3, 2018, the Vice President position went unfilled. The new board had it's first face to face meeting in Seattle on December 1, 2018, where we unanimously voted Anna Mansell to become our new WSRID Vice President. Prior to joining the board as a director in October of 2016, Anna coordinated the Professional Development Committee-West (2014-2018) and contributed as a member of the Bylaws Committee (2016-2018). When she was appointed as VP, Anna had one year remaining on her term as a director. This meant that we as a board needed to appoint an eligible member to fill her vacated director position. Let's all share a warm welcome to newly appointed Director, Kristin Deverin! Kristin took ASL classes at Olympic College (OC) and Seattle Central Community College (SCCC). She graduated from SCCC’s ITP and did an internship at the VRS Interpreting Institute in Salt Lake City. She has been working in the community for about 6 years. Her experiences include serving as the WSRID scholarship coordinator and as a WSRID director for 2 months. Due to family needs, she relocated to San Diego. Once in San Diego, Kristin joined SDCRID (the San Diego County RID) as the bylaws committee rep and was the co-chair for the Young Professionals Interpreting Network (YPIN) committee.

CONGRATULATIONS to Anna & Kristin!

Very recently Director Angie O’Bleness had to resign from her re-elected position. We thank you, Angie, for your contributions to the organization and wish you well as you continue to contribute to the field of Sign Language Interpreting in other capacities.

Currently, there are two 2-year Director positions & 1 Student Director position vacant. In the event of these vacancies, the WSRID bylaws directs us on what to do.

Section 9. Vacancies

D. To Fill a Vacancy: any vacancy occurring on the Board and any Board membership to be filled by reason of an increase in the number of Board members shall be filled as follows:

(1) Candidate(s) shall be nominated as per Article IV, Section 7.

(2) If the unexpired portion of the term is not more than one (1) year, the candidate(s) shall be elected by a majority vote of the remaining Board members.

(3) If the unexpired portion of the term is more than one (1) year, a special election shall be held within six (6) months of the vacancy occurring. The candidate(s) shall be elected by a majority vote of those eligible and voting from among the general membership.

Watch for an announcement to be shared soon when we open the floor "online" for nominations. This will be WSRID's first attempt to hold an election electronically. This is a change voted by the membership back in 2015 at the annual business meeting in Lynnwood, WA. Instructions on how to vote will be provided after the nominations close.

While we are on the topic of nominations. It is a privilege for me to share what some of you may have already seen online. Our very own Immediate Past President Paul Glaser is vying for the position of RID Vice President!! Please proudly join me in supporting Paul as he takes his journey in leadership to the National level. You can view the 2019 RID BoD Slate Intro at wsrid.com. While you check out the You Tube video, do also view the new look our website has and remember it is still being worked on to best fulfill the WSRID mission.

Sincerely & Professionally,

Caroline Allen, NIC Advanced

President, Washington State Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf

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