Happy New Year! 

While I realize this greeting will reach you in the month of February, it really has not been that long since we celebrated the holiday’s and ceremoniously flipped the calendar to welcome in 2023.  The new year has brought several changes for our association.  WSNA President Marcia Wagner (Yakima), Vice President LaToya Morris (Marysville) and Industry Chair Martin Loyche have stepped down from their positions on the Board for personal reasons.  On behalf of the WSNA Board and our members, I want to thank these leaders for their time and efforts in support of our association’s mission.    

The practice of setting resolutions (or goals) for the new year, allows one time to contemplate on what’s truly important in your life, reflect on the year behind us, while creating a plan for the year ahead.  While many popular resolutions center around exercising more or eating healthier, I have set my own personal resolution squarely around spending more quality time with family, friends and my peers, like you, who had dedicated much of our professional lives in support of meeting the nutritional needs of children while at school. 

We have two great opportunities coming up to help us stay connected (and for me to meet my goals)!  Spring Workshop will be held virtually on April 22^nd and our annual state conference will be held from July 24^th to 26^th at the Tacoma Convention Center.  Save the date for July 23^rd as well as we are hoping to offer several pre-conference opportunities as well.    I am very excited by the work that is already underway in planning this year’s annual conference.  Many thanks to our Conference Chair Melissa Erwin (Kent) and Co-Chair Charlotte Marrison (Sumner) for taking the lead.  The theme for this year’s conference, Navigating into the Future – Together, seems especially fitting given the road we have ahead of us for the association and the national school meal program. 

If you have not done so already, I would strongly encourage you to follow the progress of Washington State House Bill 1238 and Senate Bill 5339 (Providing Free School Meals for All).  By going to the links below you can review the original bill, provide comments and sign up to receive email notifications. 

   HB 1238   https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1238&Year=2023 

   SB 5339  https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5339&Initiative=false&Year=2023

 Need help to figure out where to start?  You can also contact the Legislative Hotline at 1.800.562.6000.

 Working together, we can be a strong voice in advocating for this important legislation!

Wendy Weyer, RD, SNS 

WSNA President