Dear Members, I am so excited! In a few short days, we will be holding our first-ever virtual convention. Almost all state PTAs opted to cancel their spring conferences. We decided to jump into this virtual world with both feet. It has been an incredible challenge and far more work than the in-person convention would…

Dear Members, As we cope with the pandemic, I thought I would share with you some of the lessons I learned living through the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s. Like most gay men of my generation, I was greatly impacted by that awful disease, losing friends and a partner/husband. It was a terrible…

Dear Members, PTA members are such a passionate group of people! I see it every day in the thousands of hours that volunteers spend in support of the children and youth in our state. During the Washington state legislative session, it really comes through in testimony in Olympia where volunteers will drive 4 hours to…

Dear Members, Did you hear it? That loud bang? The one that came from Olympia when PTA descended upon the capitol? If you did not hear it, I am sorry you missed it. We had over 100 advocates attend our Focus Day and share their perspectives with our state legislature. Since we were snowed out…

Dear Members, Happy New Year! Wow, it’s 2020. I can hardly believe it. I have been a lifelong fan of science fiction and grew up on Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. In the annals of science fiction, these are the years when space operas play out, the years when robots have either enslaved us all…

Dear Members, This time of year, thoughts turn to those who have less and what we can do to help. Individually, we make donations and volunteer our time. Working with and through the PTA, we systemically help those in need. Our advocacy mission serves all of the children in our state, ensuring that those in…

Dear Members, Wow – what a month! The 2019-2020 Strategic Plan Listening Tour got off to a great start in September. I was absolutely delighted to participate in four region conference and hold Listening Tour sessions. So far I have met so many members and heard so many stories. Some stories were heartbreaking and others…

Dear Members, It’s the end of August and we have hit the ground running. There is so very much to do this time of year! Families are engaged in the annual “back to school” ritual, preparing children and youth for school. PTAs are gearing up membership drives and planning their events and activities for the year. WSPTA Region Directors and other…

Dear Members, One of the messages I have heard repeatedly when I started working with the Washington State PTA seven months ago was how quiet it gets in the summer time. The story goes that with the end of the school year we stop hearing from you, the leaders and other members of the PTAs…

Dear Members, It has been a busy month for us at the Washington State PTA office. After wrapping up the Convention we dived right into preparations for the various meetings and retreats we will be holding over the summer to prepare for the 2019-2020 year. New volunteer leaders will be forfeiting part of their summer…