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March 30, 2015 – Membership Monday

Spring is officially upon us and it feels so good to finally enjoy the nicer weather!

As we head into the last two months of the school year, our responsibilities as PTA leaders do not lessen!

Here are a few reminders for you:

**April 17 & 18th is the MO PTA Spring Conference & Reflections Student Showcase in Independence, MO!  This is an amazing opportunity to train your unit’s PTA leaders as they look forward to and make plans for the 2015-2016 school year.  Please send your new leaders to this event.  Training and networking will set them up for a year of success.  Training is extremely valuable to our volunteer leaders and should always be a part of your unit’s budget.  As we wind up this school year, please send your officers to training! The deadline to register for the Conference is tomorrow, March 31st, at 5pm.  Use this link to register now!  Conference Registration

**As you are getting ready to send your new officers to the Spring Conference, please remember to submit the 15-16 Officer’s Form to the state office by March 31st. It is important for MO PTA to have the most updated information on our units and councils, so that we can continue to supply units with resources and information.  For those units that have a meeting scheduled to elect new officers, please submit the Officer’s Form once they are elected. Thank you!

**Missouri PTA is excited to share a very special PTA members only discounted price for the Kansas City Royals baseball game at 1:10pm on Sunday, April 19, 2015.  Please be sure to use this Royals link in order to purchase your tickets!

**National PTA is hosting a webinar on March 31st at 7pm EDT, to learn all about the PTA Family Reading Experience and the 20 Kindle give-away! Apply now for a chance to receive a 20 Kindle classroom set.  (Eligible PTAs must be affiliated with a Title I elementary school with a minimum 40% free and reduced priced lunch. All recipients must be in good-standing with their State PTA.)

**Enrollment for the 2015-2016 National PTA School of Excellence opens on April 1st.  To learn more about the 6 National Standards and this program that builds and strengthens family-school partnerships, please visit http://www.pta.org/excellence

Enjoy the beautiful weather this week and sign your leaders up for the Spring Conference bytomorrow!

Rebecca Cahill
Missouri PTA
VP Department of Membership Services

February 17, 2015 – Membership Monday

Good Evening PTA Leaders!

Today we observed President’s Day – a federal holiday which began to celebrate George Washington’s birthday, evolving over the years to honor all 43 of our presidents.  Do you know what tomorrow, February 17th is?

1 On February 17, 1897, more than 2,000 people – mostly mothers, but also fathers, teachers, laborers and legislators – attended the first convocation of the National Congress of Mothers in Washington, D.C.  Twenty years later, 37 chartered state congresses existed.

Do you have an answer to my question yet?

February 17th is PTA FOUNDER’S DAY!  This is a time to renew our commitment to be a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education.
*Renew your commitment:  What better way to renew your commitment than to make sure you are educated in your role as a PTA leader?  Please mark your calendar for April 17 & 18 and take a look at the Spring Conference flier I’ve attached.  Our Spring Conference will offer workshops to help you learn and grow as a leader, inspire you as you network with other PTA leaders across the state of Missouri, and offer a chance to celebrate the creative abilities of our students at the Reflections Showcase.
*Be a relevant resource: Don’t be afraid to let your members (and non-members too!) know what your PTA does for your school community.  When your parents, teachers and community know what you accomplish and what you help children to achieve, they eagerly want to be a part of PTA!  Don’t hesitate to remind folks that its not too late to join PTA.  Remember to reach out to new students and their families that may have moved in after the first of the year.  This week is also PTA’s Take Your Family to School Week.  How will you celebrate?
*Be a strong advocate for public education:  Did you receive an email notice to TAKE ACTION this past week?  PTA is encouraging our members to safeguard family engagement provisions in the re-authorization of the ESEA-NCLB.  So did you?  Did you click on the link and Take Action?  Its not too late; you can do so by clicking here.  NPTA has made it easy to advocate; simply click on the blue Take Action button, fill out the information and your pre-written correspondence will be sent to your elected officials.
 **The Winter Membership Challenge is well under way!  Remember we are looking for units that increase their membership by 15 members or 15% over and above last year’s numbers.  Dues must be postmarked by March 21st to be eligible.  All units exceeding last year’s membership numbers by March 1st will be placed on Missouri PTA’s Honor Roll.
**I want to hear from you:  What is your strategy for meeting or exceeding your membership goals in the 2nd half of the school year?

Please reply back to me with your strategy and be looking for them to be posted on the website under Membership, Resources/Tools, Membership IdeaShare.

 **Please send in your dues!  We still have units that have not sent in dues for the 2014-2015 school year.  Our goal is to reach 60,000 memberships in Missouri and we need your help to reach that goal.  On the flip-side, we have some units that have done an outstanding job exceeding last year’s membership numbers – thank you and keep up the good work!
1 “National PTA History.” – About PTA. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.

Please be sure to share this information with the leaders of your PTA unit.

Thank you for your dedication to the children of Missouri and have a wonderful Monday,
Rebecca Cahill
Missouri PTA
VP Department of Membership Services

February 2, 2015 – Membership Monday

Good Evening PTA Leaders!

The MORE VOICES FOR CHILDREN IN ’15 Winter Membership Challenge begins now!
There are two parts to this challenge:
1) Units that increase their membership by 15 members over and above last year’s reported membership numbers, will be recognized on the Missouri PTA website, in CONTACT e-magazine and awarded a certificate.
2) Units that show a 15% increase over last year’s reported membership numbers will be recognized on the Missouri PTA website, in CONTACT e-magazine, awarded a certificate, and entered in a drawing for $200.00!!!

All dues must be postmarked by March 21, 2015 to participate in the challenge.
The winner of the $200.00 will be announced at the Annual Meeting and Reflections Showcase on April 18, 2015.

Remember that our collective PTA voice is powerful, and we are heard across the state of Missouri when we speak on behalf of our children. The MORE VOICES FOR CHILDREN IN ’15 Winter challenge encourages you to share with your local school community what PTA is doing on behalf of children, and how they can support of all the wonderful things you do by joining PTA!

So many of you have done a wonderful job with your unit’s membership campaign. Over 80 units have seen an increase of at least one member more than last year. Congratulations on a job well done! We would love to hear your success story; and the best way to share your story is to apply for the Outstanding Outstanding Membership Campaign Award. Units in good standing for the 2014/2015 school year are welcome to apply for this award that is due by April 1, 2015. Would you like to hear about the 2013/2014 winner, Sequiota Elementary PTA, and how they ran their membership campaign? Read all about their success.
**Take note that units seeing an increase over last year’s membership by March 1, 2015, will be listed on Missouri PTA’s Honor Roll!

Congratulations to Bowerman Elementary PTA, winner of the $1000.00 NPTA Take Your Family to School Week grant and Holland Elementary PTA, winner of the NPTA Take Your Family to School Week Tool Kit. Both units are from Springfield, MO!

Congratulations to Nixa Council PTA and their units! Nixa Council PTA gets 100% for being the first council to have ALL units,including themselves, mail in their dues to Missouri PTA. We have a few councils that need just one more unit to send in their dues, and they will be at 100% as well!

April 17 & 18th, 2015 marks Missouri PTA’s Spring Annual Meeting and Reflections Showcase in Independence, MO. This will be a wonderful opportunity for training and workshops, as well as the enjoyment of celebrating and viewing Missouri’s Reflections entries. Please mark your calendars and be watching for registration information to come!

Please be sure to share this information with the leaders of your PTA unit.

Thank you for your dedication to the children of Missouri and have a wonderful Monday,
Rebecca Cahill
Missouri PTA
VP Department of Membership Services
membership@mopta.org


January 12, 2015 – Membership Monday

Good Afternooon PTA Leaders!
I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday break and are looking forward to a fabulous ’15!  As you head into the next few weeks, I want to challenge the way you think of membership during the second semester.
Yes, I’m going to remind you to send in your dues.  Yes, I will tell you to re-evaluate your membership goal numbers and communicate to your membership how close or how far you’ve exceeded your goals.
*Here’s your challenge:  Approach January – May with the same enthusiasm and drive that you you do August – December.  Why?  We have an entire 5 months left of time to be a voice for our children.  Many school districts actually have more days in the second semester than in the first.  There is no need to re-invent yourselves; but rather, continue what you are doing with energy and excitement!
There are many strategies for continuing your membership campaign in the 2nd half of the school year, and I want to hear from you!  On the Missouri PTA website, under the Membership tab, we will posting what you send me!  This will be a place for PTA Leaders to go for membership ideas and resources, with comments focused on a particular topic every other month.  My hope is that we can share and learn from each other.
To be clear, the FIRST topic is:  What is your strategy for meeting or exceeding your membership goals in the 2nd half of the school year?
Reply back to me with your strategy, your name, unit name and city you are located in so that we can post your ideas on the website!
I’ll be frank with you all – we are thousands of memberships lower than we were this time last year.  Our initial membership card mailing of 75% of last year’s membership numbers, combined with the number of membership cards we have continued to send out, don’t come close to matching the number of member dues reported and received at the Missouri PTA office.  Meaning that we should be well over last year’s reported membership numbers at this time, yet we are falling short.
Our office has worked hard to get everyone’s request for more cards fulfilled and mailed. Thank you all for your patience these past two months and a HUGE thank you to Amanda Weber, Kim Weber and Dorothy Gardner for their continued efforts to get the membership card situation sorted out as quickly as possible.
Beginning this week, we will go back to processing any new membership card requests via the Membership Dues Form, along with your unit’s paid membership dues.
Don’t forget that Tuesday February 10, 2015 is Safer Internet Day.  Check out an infographic presented by NPTA and our partner, Lifelock, that demonstrates how teens and families are engaging with technology and digital education.
Please be sure to share this information with the leaders of your PTA unit and know how much you are appreciated for the work you do on behalf of our children.
Thank you!

December 8, 2014 – Membership Monday

Good Evening PTA Leaders!
I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday – we all have so much to be thankful for.
As we head into the holiday, my wish for you is that you are taking time to enjoy your family and truly experience the reason for the season.
We’ve got just a couple weeks before the children are out of school and we get some much needed time off!  Here are a few reminders and updates to take you into the holiday season:
**NEW REFLECTIONS DEADLINE:  The deadline for Reflections has been moved to December 17, 2014!  Missouri is participating in the launch of the online submission process, and there are a few technical issues that are being resolved.  Thank you to all units participating in the Reflections program and for your patience with the new process.  Please remember your unit must be in good standing in order for your Reflections submissions to qualify.  I have attached a copy of the online submission guide made available by National PTA. (You may have received this same information earlier today.)
**Membership Cards:  Thank you all for your patience as we have dealt with the lack of membership cards.  We finally have cards printed and the mailings have been sent!  If you are still awaiting membership cards after requesting more, please contact myself oroffice@mopta.org with your name and position, the full unit name and unit id, and the number of cards you are waiting on.
Please remember that the method of requesting more cards is to fill out your dues form with membership numbers and the dues payment,filling in the portion near the bottom for the number of additional cards requested.  Each unit was sent 75% of their paid membership dues reported last year.  We are thrilled that so many of you will be meeting or exceeding last year’s membership numbers!!!  I can’t wait to see December’s membership report and to share it with you all!
**What will your unit’s Winter Membership drive look like?  Its never too late to join PTA, or to give your parents, teachers and community a reason they should join.  Share with your school population the wonderful things your PTA/PTSA unit has done, share the resources available to them, and ask them to be a part of it by joining PTA!
**’Tis the season for electronic gifting! With the number of electronic gifts sure to be purchased this year, take some time to direct your parents and students to great resources to keep them safe.  Check with your unit’s school or district to see what resources are available to parents.  Check out the website www.connectsafely.org and look for the Guides button — there are guides for parents on mobile devices, instagram, snapchat, etc.  Tuesday February 10, 2015 is Safer Internet Day.  Check out an infographic presented by NPTA and our partner, Lifelock, that demonstrates how teens and families are engaging with technology and digital education: http://onevoice.pta.org/?p=3746
Remember to take time for yourself and your family during the holiday and know how much you are appreciated for the work you do on behalf of our children. Thank you!
Please be sure to share this information with the leaders of your PTA unit.
Rebecca Cahill
Missouri PTA
VP Department of Membership Services