The ATA Chronicle - November/December 2017 - 2

FROM THE PRESIDENT
DAVID RUMSEY
president@atanet.org
Twitter handle: @davidcrumsey

Reflecting on
a Journey of
Discovery

L

iving on an island in the Pacific
Northwest, the nautical theme to
these columns comes naturally. And
this last one, which I'm writing on a ferry,
is no different. When I reflect on my
presidency at the helm, I think that it's
safe to say that ATA, the "mothership" as I
describe it, is in good shape.
The obvious change has been to the
Association's financial bearings. By bringing
the books into the black, we're now able to
lay the foundation for future programs and
growth. Structural changes to both ATA's
Annual Conference and The ATA Chronicle
played a large part in our recovery, and
the Board is mindful to balance the need
for financial solvency with the financial
pressures of the membership.
Public relations is another area
that's running at full steam. The PR
Committee's Writers Group has been
published in over 40 different trade
publications to educate not just the
general public but the business public-
our ultimate customers-about who
translators and interpreters are and what
we do. We reached out in person to
consumers through presentations at trade
associations like the Society for Technical
Communication, International Association
of Business Communicators, American
Chemical Society, and others. Through
it all, we fielded calls from major media
outlets such as NBC and Telemundo and
reached the general public directly in their
living rooms through our appearances on
CNBC and PBS' Nightly Business Report.
One of the key consumers of translation
and interpreting services are government
2

The ATA Chronicle | November/December 2017

clients. Over the past two years ATA
has taken solid steps to strengthen its
position with the government through the
establishment of a Government Relations
Committee that monitors and responds
to actions by local, state, and federal
authorities. We also created a Government
Division to bring government linguists at
all levels onboard at ATA. We advocated
on behalf of military and immigration
interpreters both through the media, such
as The New York Times, and to legislators
directly. Government outreach reached
a high point with Advocacy Day at this
year's Annual Conference, when some
50 ATA members met with legislators on
Capitol Hill to voice their concerns.

By bringing the books into the
black, we're now able to lay the
foundation for future programs
and growth.

American Translators Association
225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590
Alexandria, VA 22314 USA
Tel: +1.703.683.6100
Fax: +1.703.683.6122
E-mail: chronicle@atanet.org
Website: www.atanet.org

Editorial Board
Geoff Koby (chair)
Jeff Alfonso
Lois Feuerle
Corinne McKay
Mary McKee
Michael Wahlster

Publisher/Executive Director
Walter Bacak, CAE
walter@atanet.org

Editor
Jeff Sanfacon
jeff@atanet.org

Proofreader
Cathy Lada

Interpreters and interpreting often play
a key role in government services, and this
sector of the industry and the Association
is growing rapidly. ATA has responded
by forging closer ties with interpreter
groups, such as the National Association
of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators
and the National Interpreting Associations
Coalition, which includes health care, legal,
and sign language interpreting groups.
ATA also attempted to ensure greater parity
between translators and interpreters within
ATA by getting interpreter credentials
displayed on ATA's website. Expanding our
umbrella to include all the players within
the language industry makes us stronger
when communicating with the government
and the public.
Communication is at the heart of
our industry and our Association. Over
the past two years we've worked hard
to improve communication with the
general membership. We created ATAtalk,
a listserv to discuss ATA policies and
activities, published targeted Chronicle
articles to explain issues and decisions that
the Association faces, as well as expanded
communication channels through social
media such as Facebook and Twitter,
and a new YouTube channel and the ATA
Continued on page 4

Advertising
Lauren Mendell
advertising@atanet.org
Tel: +1.703.683.6100, ext. 3001
Fax: +1.703.683.6122

Design & Production
Blue House Design
www.bluehouse.us

The ATA Chronicle (ISSN 1078-6457) is published
six times per year by the American Translators
Association, 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590,
Alexandria, VA 22314 USA. Periodicals postage
paid at Alexandria, Virginia, and additional
mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to The ATA Chronicle, 225 Reinekers
Lane, Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314 USA.
The American Translators Association (ATA)
was established in 1959 as a not-for-profit
professional society to foster and support the
professional development of translators and
interpreters and to promote the translation and
interpreting professions. The subscription rate for
a member is $25 (included in the dues payment).
The U.S. subscription rate for a nonmember is $65.
Subscribers in Canada and Mexico add $25;
all other non-U.S. subscribers add $45.
Single copies are available for $7 per issue.
©2017 American Translators Association

Reprint Permission
Requests for permission to reprint articles
should be sent to the editor of The ATA Chronicle
www.atanet.org
at jeff@atanet.org.
http://www.atanet.org http://www.bluehouse.us
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ATA Chronicle - November/December 2017
