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Greetings
District 8B,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who
were able to join us for our first Roundtable. Everyone participated, which
made for lively conversation.
We opened with an
Invocation by Robert Hart. Mary Stanley (Women’s Concerns), Carolyn McKnight
(Membership), Rhonda Sneeden (Government Relations), Dan Froelich
(Communications), and Joan Green (Membership) presented committee reports.
Dan unveiled the new website:
www.cravenae.org/district.html
, be sure to visit it. If your Local has a site that you would like to have
linked to the District site, please send the information to Dan. He’ll link
you to us!
Sheri Strickland joined us and shared news concerning the
Special Edition News Bulletin and the updated
parent brochures that are available for distribution at PTO meetings as
another way to show the Association’s involvement on a community level. She
also spoke to the group about Blue Ribbon Locals and the goals set to
achieve that status.
Director Tasha Adams introduced the new Leadership Team,
Marjorie Lightsey Jones, President; Joan E. Green, Vice President and Leta
Colleen Hicks, Secretary. We also presented the focus for the remaining
meetings for the year. She presented the District’s proposed budget for the
upcoming year and encouraged members to work towards Blue Ribbon status for
their Locals.
The October meeting will focus on Membership and Organizing.
Joining us will be John Ferguson and Norma Reeves Carree. District
Presidents are asked to bring their Local’s Membership Plan, their
Membership Chair and Reconciler. If you are not able to attend, please send
someone (or two) in your stead. We want to make our meetings informative,
interactive and enjoyable.
Please invite your fellow educators and support personnel to
join us. Invite them whether they are members or not. One reason that some
educators have not joined is simply that no one has asked them. Ask them to
come out in October to the Golden Corral in New Bern. This is an ideal
setting for them to learn of the Association, and an excellent opportunity
for you to gain members. We challenge you to bring at least one non-member
with you.
To those Locals who achieved Blue Ribbon status this year,
congratulations.
It is time again for the Minority Affairs Art Contest. Entry
forms should be available from your District President. If not, please
contact me and I will get forms to you. We have had several winners in the
past, so continue to encourage your students to participate. Judging for the
District will take place at the November Roundtable. Be sure to follow the
rules on the entry form as directed; we do not want to have any of our
entries disqualified.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Banquet will be held January 18. If
you own a business, please consider placing an advertisement in the banquet
program. Anyone is eligible to purchase an ad, including friends of
education in your area—restaurants, churches, friends, family members,
politicians, lawyers, District/Local officers, Districts and Locals.
Proceeds will fund the scholarships that the Minority Affairs Commission
awards, so please support this worthy endeavor.
Congratulations to our door prize winners, Carolyn McKnight,
Sheri Strickland, and Rhonda Sneeden. Thank you to member Jenita Shepard for
the donation of the prizes.
Once again, thank you to those who attended the first
Roundtable. We look forward to a year of change and accomplishment.
On a personal note, I would like to extend a heartfelt
congratulations to Mr. Colon Ballance, who was my mentor and friend. With
his retirement goes many years of experience and much knowledge. It was Mr.
Ballance who recruited me into the Association, and a colleague gave me a
warning, “Don’t let Mr. Ballance get you into trouble, now!” I must admit,
there were times that I found myself wondering what I had gotten into, but
I’ve never regretted any of the decisions, I’ve made. The experience with
NCAE has been on of the most rewarding of my career. To Mr. Ballance, I say
thank you. I didn’t foresee that I would have to do this presidency without
you. I hope to make you proud.
Wishing you a successful year,
mj
