Five Steps to Greater TSCRA Involvement

Members of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) are encouraged to become more involved with your association. These 5 steps will help you on the path.

Show interest

Attend ranch gatherings in your area and introduce yourself to officers and staff in attendance.The Summer Meeting and Policy Conference are open to all members. Attend those meetings to become familiar with how the committees function, and attend the board meeting.Attend the Cattle Raisers Convention and Expo to network with leaders and staff, gain knowledge from the educational speakers and learn about new products.

Serve on a committee

TSCRA has 8 policy committees, which serve as vital links between grassroots membership and the policy that guides the organization. You can also serve on the Association Promotion Committee, which is charged with increasing TSCRA membership and oversees the member recruitment efforts such as ranch gatherings.Any member can serve on a policy committee. He or she can also serve on the Association Promotion Committee to help grow TSCRA membership.If you’re interested in serving on a committee, inform an officer, a committee leader or staff member. We will send a committee interest packet to help guide you in committee selection and appointment.

Step up to leadership

Each committee has a chair and vice chair. The appointment of chairs and vice chairs occurs during February and March preceding the change in officer leadership. The appointment is effective at the close of the convention where the new officers are elected.If you’d like to be considered as a committee leader, regularly attend the committee meetings and become known. Express your interest to the current committee chair or to an officer or staff member. The TSCRA first vice president takes the lead in identifying new committee chairs, and the second vice president works on the committee vice chairs. As each leader moves up to become president, they have their selected committee leadership in place.Another leadership opportunity is to volunteer as a Regional Association Promotion (RAP) Team Leader. The RAP Team is under the Association Promotion Committee. RAP leaders take on more direct responsibility with organizing ranch gatherings and other member-targeted meetings in their region. Let the Association Promotion Committee leader or staff know of your interest.

Run for the board

Let any board member, officer or staff member know you’re interested in serving as a TSCRA director. In January, TSCRA directors are invited to nominate members to serve on the board. A board member will become your nominating sponsor and may help generate letters of support from other board members.This information, with attendance records of committees and board meetings, is given to the Nominating Committee, which usually consists of the past presidents. The Nominating Committee presents a slate of board members at the membership meeting held during the opening general session at the Cattle Raisers Convention.

Accept the officer call

Involvement on the board and enthusiastic support of TSCRA may lead the members of the Nominating Committee to consider you for an officer position. The slate of officers is presented to the board of directors during the Cattle Raisers Convention for the election.