The ATA Chronicle - March/April 2021 - 4

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Looking Forward More
than Backward

T
TED R. WOZNIAK
president@atanet.org

he president's column
in this edition of The
ATA Chronicle often
reflects on the year just
ended and recaps the
highlights for ATA and its
members. As I look back on
2020, " The Year of COVID, "
I see that ATA and its
members faced and overcame
some severe challenges. But
if you're as tired of COVID
as I am, I hope you'll forgive
me for looking forward more
than backward.
But COVID is still with us
and can't be ignored. As the
country turns to vaccination
to end the pandemic, ATA
will continue to advocate for
in-person interpreters to be
classified as high-priority
vaccine recipients. The
decentralized structure for

getting needles in arms has

I also hope that the

resulted in disparity at the

Board will be able to hold

local and state levels, despite

its annual Strategy Day,

clear guidance from the

an informal meeting that

Centers for Disease Control

allows the Board to discuss

and Prevention that inperson interpreters qualify
as health care providers or a
high-risk group.
We continue to grapple
with uncertainty regarding
in-person events as we plan
for the Annual Conference
and other events, including
ATA Board meetings. I
remain optimistic that the
situation will be much closer
to the " old normal " by this
summer or the fall at the
latest, and that ATA62 can
and will be at least a hybrid

big-picture items and take a
longer-term, strategic look
at ATA's future.
Looking forward, ATA has
also made lemonade out
of the pandemic lemons.
We increased our online
professional development
offerings substantially with
new and timely webinars,
including a free monthly
webinar. The Professional
Development, Membership,
and Business Practices
Education Committees have
all worked to provide new
remote opportunities for

event-in person with

continuing education and

remote access.

to recruit and welcome new
members to the Association.

ATA has made
lemonade out of the
pandemic lemons.
The pandemic also
accelerated the Certification
Committee's efforts to find
a way to offer true remote,
at-home certification
exams. At the January Board
meeting, the committee
reported that they believe
they have now found a likely
solution and hope to offer
a test run sometime this
summer. If successful, this
will be a sea of change for
our Certification Program,
as candidates will no longer
have to travel to take the
exam. It won't allow a shift

4

The ATA Chronicle | March/April 2021

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The ATA Chronicle - March/April 2021

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