Alaska PTA Helps Build Comprehensive Database of PTA Members

Alaska PTA is one of nine states taking part in the pilot phase of a centralized database to discover who PTA members are and to be able to serve their needs better. As a local PTA in Alaska, your participation is necessary to make this project a success. You’ll be asked to collect individual names, postal addresses, and e-mail addresses of your members for local, state, and national communication use. You’ll be provided with a new, standard membership form to make data collection easy. (Please be aware that members will receive only the communications they sign up for, and their contact information will not be sold to a third party.)

Having direct access to all of our members allows our association to better advocate for children by mobilizing more members on key issues affecting children. The more members we can connect, the more we can accomplish for children.

To make this a reality, we want to connect to your officers, committees, and members by collecting the names and addresses of everyone in your unit. Having this information will improve the way we communicate and allow us to deliver news about special services, resources, and exclusive benefits directly to your members. This means that, as PTA president, you’ll no longer need to forward important messages from your state PTA and National PTA; it will be done for you!

What’s more, not only will we be able to share data with you, but you’ll have access to it for your PTA’s use. Through a Web-based system, local unit leaders will be able to generate mailing labels and send broadcast e-mails to their members. This can help spread the word about school happenings, volunteer opportunities, and coming events quickly, easily, and at no cost.

Consider this advantage, too: Never again will contact information for your unit be lost when the individual responsible for managing that information leaves the office or moves to a new district. The information will be centrally kept (and secured through password protection) and available via the Internet from your home, office, or school.

Our state PTA office will send local PTA presidents the Web link, username, and password by May 1. There’s no need to retype all those names and addresses. Simply upload your membership file to the Web. It’s that easy!

Training is available online, contact cariade@mtaonline.net

Benefits of Connecting to the Central Database • Password-protected so your information is secure • Web-accessible from anywhere, any time • Easy to use; simply upload your membership file to the website • Provides the ability for two-way communication with your membership • Increases the ease of relaying your PTA’s news to members • Enables your members to subscribe to free resources based on their interests • Provides individuals with more contact from their state PTAs and National PTA • Access to customer service representatives to answer your technology questions • No cost to your PTA Get the PTA Power Connection. Get Connected Today!

I am Glad to announce to you that Alaska PTA has a new office manager! Yay!

The Alaska PTA hired Marilyn Hurst today. Matilyn brings a host of skills and abilities to our organization and we are very pleased that she has joined us.

Because we will be in training mode for the next few weeks, please be patient as Marilyn learns our system. She will direct calls to the appropriate person and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Office hours are 10 am to 4 pm. Monday through Friday with the exception of the week of "Leadership Saturday". The Next "Leadership Saturday" is on April 2. That week of March 28- April 2, the office will be open Tuesday through Saturday.

Marilyn is already organizing and assessing and getting ready to set up the systems that will make it easier for all of us to find what we need when we need it.

Again we welcome her and we are very glad she is with us.

Its Spring?

In PTA the spring time is a flurry of activity. We have field days, walks, clean up days and elections! We also have planning, organizing and training to do. While the spring cleaning and fun is a good thing, the most important thing that any PTA can do is elect good leaders for the coming year.

You will find information in this mailing and on the website on nominations and elections. Always, Always, read your bylaws to be sure what information on elections, officers and nominations is contained in them, your unit bylaws are always the highest authority on what and how you elect. If you have questions about the how, who’s and whys just drop an email to one of the Board of Managers or the Alaska PTA Office.

Alaska PTA will also be electing its new leaders for the next term. The slate is not yet complete and if you are interested in serving please contact me for available positions.
The elections will take place at the Alaska PTA 2005 Annual Convention.

The Convention is also an opportunity to receive PTA training. Training is essential to good PTA leaders. It is critical that we know our responsibilities to the law, our members and our parent organization so that we may full those obligations. At every level of PTA, training is offered and attended to make us a better organization. Alaska PTA President Elect, Dee Parsons, and I just spent 2 days receiving training so that we may better serve you our local unit leaders. You should take every available opportunity to get PTA training.

We get a lot of phone calls for help and information and advice and frequently the answers to those questions are covered in Convention workshops, Leadership Training, Council Leadership training and handouts. There will be training available after convention in various places but for the most intense training, nothing will match the Alaska PTA Convention and Leadership Training.

See you there!

Suellen Appellof
Alaska PTA President

Alaska PTA 2005 Reflections Winners Announcement

Literature
Primary Winner Taylor Bruce Finger Lake PTA
Honorable Mention Sarah Bartlett Woodriver PTA
Honorable Mention Paige Brame Nikiski North Star PTA
Intermediate Winner Elizabeth Patton Joy PTA
Honorable Mention Johnathan Lovell Woodriver PTA
Honorable Mention Sarah Bonn East PTA-Kodiak
Middle/Junior Winner Andrea Chaudhary Schoenbar PTA
Honorable Mention Marissa Ginty Rabbit Creek PTA
Honorable Mention Ali/Lynn Montecillo Schoenbar PTA
Senior Winner Sarah Boger West Valley PTSA

Music
Primary Winner Sasha Bult-Ito Woodriver PTA
Honorable Mention Kathleen Chaudhary White Cliff PTA
Intermediate Winner Davianna Olert Rogers Park PTA
Honorable Mention Luke Castellini Joy PTA
Middle Junior Winner Henry Arend Rabbit Creek PTA
Honorable Mention Travis Friesen Swanson - Sherrod PTA
Senior Winner Treavor Thomas Wasilla High PTSA
Honorable Mention Samuel Pflaum Kay Hi PTSA

Photography
Primary Winner Sara Saunders Bowman PTA
Intermediate Winner Emma Funk Pearl Creek PTA
Honorable Mention Sharon Lockwood University Park PTA
Middle/Junior Winner Alexandra Van Hoomissen Swanson - Sherrod PTA
Honorable Mention Jessie Duke Kalifornsky Beach PTA Senior none

Visual Arts
Primary Winner Jessica Garvin North Pole Elementary PTA
Intermediate Winner John Boyle North Pole Elementary PTA Honorable Mention amuel Lund Larson PTA
Middle/Junior Winner none
Senior Winner Lindsey Wesser Wasilla High PTSA
Honorable Mention Happy Dong West Valley PTSA
Honorable Mention Amber Burks Seward PTSA