It Takes a Village (of Volunteers)

By: Hilda Shymanik

Annual conferences and election season are the highlights of most professional associations. However, the work continues year-round.

Do you ever wonder how associations get all the work done during a normal year? How many projects take place simultaneously? Who takes care of what?

Unfortunately, it is hard to find volunteers willing and able to run for office or participate in committees or projects to support our multiple associations.

Earlier this year, we received this astonishing, sad, and devastating news:

Final Public Statement from the American Alliance of Professional Translators and Interpreters (AAPTI)

After careful consideration, we must share that AAPTI will formally cease operations. Despite multiple outreach efforts, we did not receive enough board member nominations to maintain the organizational governance required to continue operations responsibly. While this was a difficult decision, we believe transparency and accountability to our community must come first.

I can only speak from experience, but having volunteered for a good ten years now in different associations, I find that this is a problem facing all these entities and, from what I have read, all professions.

More Challenging

Trends have been going in this direction for at least a decade. I remember attending an association's monthly meeting in 2017 and being told that there were no candidates for the president position. I was not even a member anymore, but I immediately joined, ran, and took over as chair while serving as a NAJIT Board member.

On another occasion, I was at the American Translators Association (ATA) 59th Annual Conference in 2018 during a chapter leadership training session, and an association president shared that she was exhausted and no longer wanted to be on her association's board. She had moved to another state, and it was very hard to stay in the position. But she did not want to let her colleagues and her profession down, and they were unable to find a replacement candidate. She had been president for several successive terms.

These are not isolated cases, and I feel that, at one time or another, there is a small group of people working on many committees and in more than one association or group at a time.

The Proof Is in the Pudding

If in doubt, go to the NAJIT, ATA, MATI, DVTA, and other T&I associations' websites and tell me you do not see the same names that we see posting on social media, presenting workshops, and giving seminars.

I believe that part of the problem is that we are all intimidated by the prospect of holding a position with such responsibility, thinking ourselves unequal to the task. And I assure you that with guidance and the right leadership, any one of us can participate and acquit ourselves well.

I was chair of NAJIT's Nominations and Elections Committees (one at a time) recently, and I am now working with my local ATA chapter, leading the Conference and Elections Committees. I want to see more participation and volunteers come forward to serve in all our professional associations and groups.

Less Is Not More

Most associations function at a volunteer deficit. In my eight years on the boards of NAJIT and as president of the NYCT (New York Circle of Translators), committees were not always fully staffed or fully functional. Again, I invite you to read the bylaws of your local association and then go see the number of members on all committees. Many do not have the minimum required by the bylaws or even have a designated chair or president.

Our NAJIT Board has done a great job recruiting members for the board and committees, but again, it is not always an easy task.

So, when there aren't viable candidates to staff committees, who then carries the weight and picks up the slack? Fortunately, for larger associations that can afford a management company or an administrator, they can step in and take over. However, that uses up association resources that could go toward other projects, events, and educational programs. Unfortunately, smaller local associations can't afford it, and board members have to overcommit to keep limping ahead.

Call to Action!

Because of all these reasons, and because I know you want to be supportive of your T&I community (I seldom meet someone indifferent to this plight), I encourage you to reach out to your board, nominations, leadership, or elections committee, management company, or administrator to inquire about the board's role. Reach out to a particular member whose seat you would like to run for and ask any questions you have.

In preparation for such a step, join a committee that engages in an activity you are interested in. That experience and your involvement can best prepare you to fill a role.

To stay relevant and participate, if your time is so limited that you do not feel you can dedicate any number of hours regularly, make sure to get together with your closest colleagues at least twice a year to talk about association news, changes in the profession, perhaps to discuss best practices, or maybe to welcome and guide new members to our field. If you are not an association member, I encourage you to join one or, at the very least, subscribe to its distribution list or social media groups and pages.

To find reasons to volunteer, read a 2020 piece I wrote about the advantages and benefits of volunteering:

https://www.najit.org/on-being-a-najit-volunteer

While the comments feature of The NAJIT Observer is currently unavailable, you can reach out to us via TNO_editor@najit.org. We will be happy to reply and, when possible, include your feedback in our new blog responses post. Feel free to share your ideas on models for recruiting volunteers and your experience in addressing the volunteer shortage.

Keep the Conversation Going

If this topic resonated with you, be sure to check out our previous blog posts for more insights on the realities of our profession, and the evolving world of judiciary translation and interpreting:

“Happy Judge, Happy Life”… — What happens when court interpreters are asked to work outside the boundaries of their role?

Preparedness: When Presence Is Not Enough — Is showing up enough, or does a court interpreter’s responsibility begin long before the assignment starts?  
Help Shape the Next Issue of Proteus — Want to help shape the next issue of Proteus?

Taking a Pause — What do moving boxes and NTO have in common?



You can find these and more in our blog archives!

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Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position, policies, or views of the NAJIT Board of Directors or the organization as a whole. Content published in The NAJIT Observer is intended to encourage professional dialogue, reflection, and community engagement. Reader discretion is advised where topics may involve complex ethical, professional, or emotionally sensitive subject matter.

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