Hello MCA, 

First, I want to thank you all for the opportunity to serve the Mississippi Counseling As-sociation as a President. I have been involved with MCA for most of the last twenty plus years and I have loved my time with the organization. The Mississippi Counseling Asso-ciation has been such a great network to meet people as well as develop long-term friend-ships with counselors from around the State of Mississippi. 

This year’s theme for our annual conference is “Counselors Helping Counselors.” The reason I selected this theme has to do with the two groups of counselors we mainly repre-sent. School counselors and mental health counselors are tasked with serving our great state in many different settings. My goal for the conference is to help counselors under-stand more about the areas of counseling they are unfamiliar with. My belief is if we have a better understanding of the different systems where counselors work it will help us serve our clients more effectively. 

As a mental health counselor, I have been lucky to have several close counselor friends who are school counselors. This has helped me have a better understanding of school counseling. Additionally, my involvement with MCA has allowed me to help work on legislation for school counselors and mental health counselors. I believe that we have to work together and the first step of that is understanding how school counselors and mental health counselors can more effectively work together. 

 A second part of “Counselors Helping Counselors” relates to the overall mental health of counselors in the field. We all work hard with our clients no matter what setting. We are often tasked with seeing people at their worst or most vulnerable. The stresses of our ca-reer can often weigh heavily on each of us. Being mentally healthy is especially important for our long-term success. The stress of our jobs is only one factor. We are regular people with regular problems. Sometimes the same problems as our clients. 

To help “Counselors Help Counselors” I would like to help MCA develop a member help line. The member help line would allow members of MCA to have a means to contact MCA and be directed to a provider to either deal with cri-sis or help find services to address whatever may be going on in their personal lives. Many professional organiza-tions offer services such as these and I think MCA could offer something like this as a part of annual membership. I will speak more about this at the conference, but I will also be looking for volunteers to help as well. 

This year’s conference is being put together by a great crew of people. Our conference co-chairs, Claire Threatt and Hunter Burns, have done an outstanding job putting together our Conference. We have a broad spectrum of learning opportunities for counselors who will be attending the November. We will, of course, be back on the beautiful Mis-sissippi Gulf Coast for the conference. The venue will be familiar for those who have attended in the past. The Con-vention Center has played host for MCA for many years, and we continue to work to keep this venue part of our an-nual conference in the future. 

I would like to recognize the service of Paulette Edwards and Lori Parker. They have served as co-executive direc-tors of MCA and finished their service in those roles on June 30th. I want to personally thank them for my time work-ing with both and for answering all my questions regardless of how annoying they might have been. Thank you, Pau-lette and Lori, MCA owes you a debt of gratitude. 

With the resignation of Paulette and Lori, MCA was left with a vacancy to fill. As many of you know, Jayme Sulli-van was selected to become our new Executive Director. To say Jayme knows a lot about MCA is an understate-ment. I couldn’t think of a better person to help MCA move forward and Jayme brings a wealth of knowledge and a love for the counseling profession. 

 I would like to extend a special thank you to Karla Weir for her help in transitioning to the President role this year. Karla has been kind and gracious along with offering me a wealth of knowledge from her time as President. She has been a great President and will continue to serve MCA in the future. 

 Following my term as President, Heather Norton will take over as President on July 1, 2025. It has been wonderful to work with Heather this year and I look forward to helping her as she transitions to President. MCA will be in good hands. 

  I would like to thank the people serving on the Administrative Council, Executive Board, Division officers, Regional Offers, committee members and anyone else that works hard for MCA. Thank you sincerely. I love this organization, and the people who are a part of it. 

 I would encourage anyone who feels that they would like to serve in any role in MCA, please ask anyone and we will find you a place. I know it seems scary, but it is a decision you will not regret. 

I look forward to seeing every one of you at the MCA Annual Conference on the Coast. Safe travels and remember to vote before you head to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. 

Sincerely, 

Steven R. Stafford, MS, LPC