TAMIO Thoughts

12Mar 2024 by Tristan Gideon

State of the Association

TAMIO
As we celebrate TAMIO's 50th anniversary this year, this milestone reminds us of how far we've come together. From our humble beginnings to becoming a cornerstone for municipal communicators, it's been quite the journey. Now, as we turn our gaze to the year ahead, let's take a moment to reflect on the whirlwind of 2023. From exciting breakthroughs to unforeseen challenges, it's shaped us in ways we couldn't have imagined. So, sit back, and let’s rewind to review the highlights and lessons learned from the past year in TAMIO. Association Management During our last Constitutional election, TAMIO’s members approved a $40 increase in the annual membership fee, to $125 annually. That change started in 2023, raising additional revenue to ensure we can maintain our current level and quality of programming,…
Read More
31Mar 2023 by Tristan Gideon

Looking back on 2022 and ahead to 2023.

TAMIO
Periodically, it’s helpful for all of us to stop and take stock of what we have accomplished and the impact it has had. While, this is true in our personal or professional lives, it is also a beneficial exercise for our organization. With that in mind, I wanted to share with you some 2022 TAMIO milestones and how it sets us up for the future.   Association Management At our annual conference last June, we announced the results of the TAMIO Board elections for your executive officers. Here are the results: President: Jay Warren, Arlington President-Elect: Molly Fox, Bedford Vice President for Education and Development: Dorothy White Vice President for Awards: Sara Bustilloz, Round Rock Vice President for Communications: LeaAnn Peterson, Seabrook Each of these positions runs through June 2024.…
Read More
18Aug 2022 by Tristan Gideon

TAMIO is growing. What about our board and regions?

Change, Leadership, Organization, TAMIO
Over the last decade, TAMIO has seen substantial growth in membership and in the organization’s programming. That growth is exciting, but it brings with it a few challenges. Certain parts of the state have seen record population growth, which means those TAMIO regions have also seen the fastest membership growth. This has resulted in some regions with 24 members and other regions with more than 150 members. Additionally, all of the new programming TAMIO is producing requires people to implement it and facilitate it. These are all normal growing pains, and we have a proposed solution for your consideration – a reconfiguration of our TAMIO regions. What will that look like? First, it’s important to note that our TAMIO regions need to align with the boundaries already created for TML’s…
Read More
09Feb 2022 by Tristan Gideon

TAMI Awards Information

TAMI Awards
It’s TAMI Award season and that means it’s time to dig out those kudos emails, screenshot analytics, and dust off your award entry writing skills. Last year, we had almost 450 award entries and we’re hoping for even more this year. What’s New – Best Small Shop We’ve heard your cries, small shop folks! This year we’re introducing the Best Small Shop award category. This is specifically for those who have two or fewer communications professionals in their main communications department/division. We wanted to highlight the great work our one-man-bands (and two-people-bands – it just doesn’t have that same ring) are doing. The way it works – the TAMI Awards Committee and I came up with six major areas of work we do on a regular basis. These areas include…
Read More
02Feb 2022 by Tristan Gideon

Other duties as assigned can lead to professional growth.

Change, Organization
The time is January 2021, and in the thick of month eight of COVID-19 communications, it happened. All of the responsibilities for the City of Bryan’s 150th Anniversary of Incorporation – the largest celebration in the city since the mid-1990s – were bestowed upon my department. Oh, and that official 150th anniversary date was just around the corner. So, with 10 months and an extremely small budget – in the middle of a pandemic – we set out to plan and execute a year’s worth of historical celebrations and events worthy of a sesquicentennial. Only one small problem: I’ve never been an event planner, and knowing the immense amount of details and skill that go into planning events, I wasn’t sure how we were going to pull this off. But,…
Read More