Welcome new Board member!
Thank you for volunteering your time with the Suncoast Mental Health Counselors Association.
We are the local chapter of the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association and represent 7 counties in West Central Florida. Although most of our members come from Hillsborough and Pinellas, our chapter also includes DeSoto, Hardee, Manatee, Polk and Sarasota counties.
Click on the highlighted links in this document for additional information. Take a moment to look over the SMHCA Bylaws and read Article I, Section 3. Purpose: to get a better idea of why we are here and what we are trying to do. You should also note that Article VI, Section 1. Elected Officers: where the bylaws say elected officers of the association will also be members of FMHCA and are encouraged to be members of AMHCA. On the AMHCA website you will find information about the discount for unified dues.
For 9 months of the year on the 3rd Friday of each month SMHCA provides training on various professional development topics for the Association members at minimal cost. Non-members can attend for a slightly higher fee. SMHCA is an approved CEU Provider with CE Broker offering continuing education credits monthly for attendees. Board meetings are currently held virtually from Noon to 1 PM the 3rd Thursday of the month.
In the spring an additional training event called the Spring Symposium is provided for students and interns from local university counseling programs. This event is held to foster new members into the profession. You can download a Word file with a sample agenda for the Spring Symposium here.
The SMHCA calendar of events will give you an overview of on-going activities throughout the year. You can download a Word file of the SMHCA Annual Calendar here. Additional activities may be included based on the needs of the membership.
We follow a modified Roberts Rules of Order for Board meetings. You can view the rules here. The agenda is prepared by the President with input from the various working committees. The committees get together outside of the actual Board meeting. They are required to provide reports to the President with recommendations to the Board. These recommendations will be voted upon or sent back to the committee for further clarification.
You are eligible to vote only if you are an elected Board Officer, appointed to a Board position, or appointed as a Chairperson of one of the Standing Committees.
Minutes from the Board meetings are posted on the Board Members Forum along with other discussions of Board business. You may want to look back over the previous postings to get a taste of what has happened recently. If you have not already subscribed to the Board Members Forum please log on, go to the Board Members Forum and click on the subscribe button near the top of the page. You will then receive an email notice digest of any new information posted. You may also want to subscribe to the Legislative Update Forum to stay informed of legislative issues that will impact Mental Health Counselors.
Another page you may want to look at is The Board Member Page, where you will find information specific to all positions and Committees. Just click on the individual links to see each position or committee description.
For an even longer view of the chapter’s experience, you can read the history of SMHCA here.