by Dolores Winchell,

Welcome, Welcome,

I hope you have all had a restful and enjoyable summer. As most of you are aware it was a really challenging summer in view of the school board decision after school was out to allow parents to fundraise to save 20:1 in third grade. For your information, there were four units who met their goal by the deadline. They are: Foothill Ranch, O'Neill, Robinson and Valencia.

On August 12, we hosted a training session for unit presidents on how to train and orient your board. It was well attended and there were many interesting questions, comments and ensuing discussions. My hat is off to all of you who carved the time out to attend this important training. Training your own board will ultimately make your job easier and more enjoyable. Believe me, there isn't any reason why your job can't be fun. You are in the driver's seat and the more time and effort you put in up front (by promoting, attending and conducting workshops and training) the better your unit will function the entire year.

Remember, a large part of your job is to identify and continue to develop future leadership to ensure the continued success of your PTA. In the first few months of the school year, you should identify possible successors for your position in your officer and chairman ranks. I suggest you invite these candidates to a council meeting sometime during the year (or have them fill in for you when you have a conflict) so they can get an idea of what to expect at this level. Encourage them to network with their counterparts at other units so they don't have to recreate the wheel.

Thursday, August 21 is our first council meeting of the year. We will be meeting at 6:30 PM at the SVUSD board room. I understand that you may be on vacation or have a conflict so please make sure you send another board member in your place if you are unable to attend. Attending, participating in, then decimating the information back at your unit from these meetings is critical to your PTA's success. One of the reasons we alternate meetings between AM and PM is so that we can get presidents to personally attend at least 50% of the time. Understanding that some of you work and/or have childcare evening issues, this is our way of attempting to accommodate the schedules of the entire council. If you have a definite and continuing conflict with either time, please designate now, a regular replacement attendee from your unit to cover for you in your absence. Please note that you should not ask an executive council board member to serve in a replacement capacity, as they have their own job to perform, and getting an officer or chairman from you own board grooms and encourages future leadership.

By now you should all have received the PTA Toolkit from your predecessor and the National PTA Annual Resources mailing. Please be certain that you also received from your predecessor a 2003 copy of the Insurance and Loss Prevention Guide.

See you all on the 21st!

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AUGUST 21 COUNCIL MEETING: 6:30 P.M., SVUSD BOARD ROOM
ITEMS TO BRING TO THE MEETING:

1. Unit Board and Association Meeting Schedule for 2003-04 with times and dates
2. (Two (2) Hard copies ) Unit Officer & Chairman Roster w/names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses; (Be sure to email updates to M. Shults - See page 3)

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS...

• Tues., September 2 - School Board Mtg., 7:00 PM, SVUSD Board Room
• Thurs., September 18 - President/Principal Breakfast, 9:00 AM, SVUSD Board Room
• Thurs., September 25 - Membership & Reflections Workshops, 9:00 AM at Rancho Caņada Elementary School
• Thurs., September 25 - Council Meeting, 10:00 AM, Rancho Caņada Elementary School

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MEMBERSHIP
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CREATE AN ALL-STAR TEAM
By Julie Swartz, Membership Chairman

Our goal, as a PTA Council this year, is to help you build "an all-star" team at each and every school site. Your membership chairmen are responsible for helping you "recruit" new and "veteran" members for your team. This season of "drafting" is a time to focus on and include all families at your school. We strive to work together for the benefit of all children in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. Last year we saw many positive results due to the efforts of our PTA units; we expect the same this year. Our PTAs promote a positive school environment for our children to flourish and learn.

The National PTA (founded in 1897) has played an important role in many areas including child labor laws, hot school lunches, early childhood development and Children's Television Act (to improve TV programs) to name a few. Although most members join because they care about their child's school, every member is also a part of a much bigger organization. The National PTA has over 6.2 million members, with 26,000 units in all 50 states! PTA is the largest volunteer organization working exclusively for children.

Your PTA leaders set the example for the whole "team" and I am sure they set a climate of inclusiveness. It is important to reach new families at your school or just families that have never joined before. PTA is so MUCH more than "bake sales" - get the word out!

Membership Themes:
Start your membership drive off with a catchy theme. Prepare a bulletin board display where parents, students and teachers can visually see your membership goals. Don't forget to encourage your teachers and staff to join. You may also want to ask you local city elected officials, local business people or friends of your school. Some themes are:

• Be Part of the Production - Join the Cast
• Strike it Rich With PTA
• Get Roped Into PTA (Western Theme)
• Sea-ing is Believing (Ocean theme)
• Grow With Us (Gardening Theme)
• Complete Our Puzzle, Join PTA - Where Everybody Fits (Puzzle pieces were used)

I would love to hear what theme you are using - I am sure many of your units are very creative!

Accurate record keeping is a must in regards to membership. If this is a challenge for you, ask someone in your unit who is good with numbers to help! If your unit allows for family memberships, you need to review your bylaws to verify exactly how many members that represents (many units have indicated that a family membership represents two members. When you track the name and number of members, it is important that you list two names and count two members.) You must remit $3.85 for each member who joins PTA. Please call me if you have any questions regarding this matter.

IMPORTANT DUE DATES:

• Early Bird Award (15 members min) ...Council Meeting on October 23, 2003
• Chairman's Club (50 members +) ......Council Meeting on October 23, 2003
• Final Membership Remittance..........Council Meeting on February 26, 2004

In order to be eligible for a California State PTA Creative Membership Award, you must meet all the above membership deadlines. This application is sent directly to the State office by February 1, 2003. Check your Toolkit for an application.

Please remember that I am here to help you and your Membership Chairmen. Please let me know how I can assist you. It is the goal of the Saddleback Valley PTA Council to support you at the unit level in every way possible. You can reach me at (949) 582-0830 or .

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AUDITOR
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END-OF-YEAR AUDITS DUE IN SEPTEMBER
By Luis Alvarado, , 858-5257

As specified in your bylaws, all units must have a complete financial audit conducted on a semi-annual basis. Since our fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30, that means all units should have their audits complete prior to the first board meeting which most of you have in August.

For new presidents or auditors, the California State PTA Toolkit has a section under Finance called "The PTA Audit" which spells out the audit procedure step by step. If you do not have this publication, it is available from the California State PTA's website at http://www.capta.org/sections/communication/toolkit.cfm.

The final completed audit must be adopted by your association at a unit meeting, by way of motion, and the adoption date must be indicated on the audit. Please submit two (2) copies of your "adopted" unit audit by bringing it to the council meeting on September 25 or mail it by September 30 to Luis Alvarado, 28981 Canyon Rim Dr, Trabuco Canyon, CA 92679.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

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COMMUNICATIONS
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It's the hottest summer that I can remember in a long time. Doesn't really put me in the mood to start up all my PTA duties again. But, time to bite the bullet and get on with the show.

First, I want to thank all of you who so graciously submitted your unit rosters using the Word and/or Excel forms that were distributed in the spring.

By this time, most of you have already met with your boards, reviewed your budget recommendations and are ready to roll. Many of you had several officer and/or committee chair positions vacant in the spring, or you did not have information such as email addresses or mailing addresses.

Because most of the council's communication is handled via email and/or telephone, it is very important that we have that information for the unit counterparts. For example, Julie Swartz sent out a letter to membership chairmen and we did not have email addresses for over 50% of the unit's membership chairs.

Please be sure to bring two (2) copies of your most current unit roster and if you need a copy of your electronic roster file, let me know and I'll be happy to send it to you (please advise if you need Word, Excel or if there is another format you prefer).

Thank so much for all your cooperation and we'll see you soon!

MaryAnne Shults -

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Do you have a quote that you like that relate to your duties as a PTA president? If so, please send it to me and I'll use it in one of our communication tools this year.

Here's one that a friend of mine back east uses in her email signature:

"A simple rule... "Speak without offending, and listen without defending."