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President's Message
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June 2009
By Patty Christiansen, President
It Has Been an “E Ticket” Ride!
I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun! This two-year adventure serving as your president has been amazing, overwhelming, exciting, tiring, and just downright exhilarating!
I taught workshops and spoke in your councils. I did skits! I visited legislators and met with government officials. I celebrated Reflections students, scholarship winners, Founders’ Day and Honorary Service recipients! I wore octopus tentacles and mouse ears; I put on gear for fishing (for members) and hosted meetings in my robe and slippers (when I caught a case of the PTA flu!)
When we were elected, Executive Vice President Patty Jordan and I determined that we were going to enjoy every minute while in office. It has been an “E ticket” ride! Better than Space Mountain or the Viper Roller Coaster rides!
However, a president is nothing without a dedicated, hard-working team. Can I ever thank you enough for one of the best rides of my life? Each of you contributed so richly to our Fourth District PTA team, whether you served at the unit, council or district PTA level. You are my co-workers, my fellow advocates, my mentors, my friends.
Carrying on the tradition of past Fourth District leaders, I am excited to report that we continue to accomplish great things in Fourth District PTA. We have organized new unit PTAs, and said goodbye to others. We have trained hundreds of our members to become parent leaders, and made personal visits to ALL of your councils.
Outreach has been one of our top goals. We reached out to incarcerated youth in the Rio Contiguo Guidance Center by establishing a PTSA and an in-house support group. We continue to reach out to our Latino members with specialized trainings in Spanish and a “Spanish Hotline,” so that our Spanish-speakers can receive PTA information in their native language. We created a special newsletter which goes to all District English Learners Advisory Committee leaders in the county, providing PTA information as well as parent education en español!
You are our strength! As you work to develop art advocates using our new arts advocacy notebook, as you strengthen parents with parent education programs, as you travel to Sacramento with our A-Team to advocate for children….YOU are what makes Fourth District PTA strong, vibrant and ever-growing!
From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for your contribution to Fourth District PTA, the most outstanding PTA District in California!