Dear Members, What a difference a vacation makes! I love our holiday break. It is an opportunity for proper rest. So much of our little world also takes a break at the end of the year. We can return to PTA knowing that work has not accumulated much during our absence. That annual break always…

Dear Members, I love to plan. When I started my journey with nonprofit work in the mid-1990s, I was fortunate to be sent to facilitator training. There I learned the value and wisdom that comes from effective group processes. Collaboration is key to creating good strategic plans. We start developing our strategic plan with an…

Dear Member, As I was waiting at the airport to fly to D.C. for the National PTA Hill Day and Convention last month, an announcement came over the intercom. “There will be no internet access on the flight to D.C.; you might want to download movies now.” My first reaction was frustration since I planned…

Dear Members, As a Washington State PTA member, you can take advantage of various discounts for goods and services. Our Member Discounts webpage lists the opportunities available to you. The options include vacation activities, supplies and shipping, and a few personal products. If you want to save some money for your next family vacation or…

Dear Members, Our job at Washington State PTA is two-fold. We advocate at the state level on behalf of our members as directed in the principles, issues, and resolutions that are approved by the membership. We also support, train, and empower the members and volunteer leaders of local and council PTAs to fulfill their mission…

Dear Members, In January, I wrote about a few of Washington State PTA’s nonprofit partners, those organizations that we rely upon for the support and services they provide. This month I will share with you a bit about our vendor partners. Our reliance on our vendor partners is different but no less critical. Our vendor…

Dear Members, Anyone reading this knows that one of our primary jobs at the Washington State PTA is to support the volunteer leaders of local and council PTAs across the state. We are here to provide training, resources, and direct support to make your job as a PTA leader easier. However, our work is very…

Dear Members, Members and leaders of PTA amaze me regularly. You are incredibly dedicated, resourceful, and caring. This has been especially true through the pandemic. Local and council PTAs across the state have stepped up to support their students, families, and communities. You filled the many gaps that opened up when COVID-19 disrupted our lives…

Dear members, The desire to find balance in our lives has been on my mind quite a bit lately. The hope is that we can find some equilibrium between our families, work, and volunteering. The ideal has been that home and family come first, followed by work and school, and volunteering is third. It comes…