Our second meeting of the year was held on December 2nd at the Longview Regional Medical Conference Center in Longview. We were greeted by our Membership Chair, Angele Fanning, and her committee. Angele makes sure dues have been paid, addresses updated, and records turned into TCA after each meeting. We currently have 170 members!
The meeting place was provided for us free of charge, which we greatly appreciate. It was a wonderful place to meet and our President-Elect, Janet Adams, worked very hard to make sure we were comfortable. She added so many nice touches, such as flavorings for the coffee and homemade brownies (made for us by her daughter, Amy). We applaud her hard work.
The first item on the agenda was the business meeting, conducted by our President, Cathy Sullivan. If you are reading this, you already know that we have added this blog so we have an additional record of our meetings that members can access at any time. We are also trying to make sure that the treasurer’s report is made available after each meeting from a link on the meeting page of the website.This is the time of the year that we make nominations for the 2009-2010 officers and committee chairpersons. If you are interested in serving as a leader of Piney Woods, or if you want to nominate someone, just send in your nomination form, or e-mail any of the officers. We are also asking for nominations for our organization's counselor-of-the-year to be awarded at the March meeting. Nomination forms are on the website.
We had a state-wide award winner from our chapter again this year. Vickie Spearman was named the 2006 winner of the TSCA School Counselor of the Year. So, be sure and turn in any other nominations for state awards. We love the recognition!The Advocacy Days for meeting with legislators center around the Spring TCA/TEA conferences and are: Feb 17, Mar. 25, and May 5. We can use all the advocates we can get!
If you missed the meeting, you missed the opportunity to have your name drawn for the door prizes which were gorgeous red poinsettias, provided by Lynn Bearden, Hospitality Chairperson.
Our speaker, Todd Burns, MS, NCC, LPC, seemed like a special treat. His morning presentation was “ADHD Students and Strategies to Help Them.” He gave us many valuable tips and techniques that we can use and suggest to our teachers. It was a very practical and informative morning. The afternoon presentation was “Keeping Your Candle Lit, So That You Can Light Your World.” He talked about “compassion fatigue” and gave us some tips on how to rejuvenate. I think we enjoyed the humor tip the best, “Nuts, Nuts, Not Nuts!” You had to be there. :)
Between the two presentations, we had a delicious lunch arranged by Janet Adams, President-Elect, and catered by Jalapeno Tree.
The entire day was truly spectacular!
Until next time,
Leaurme Black, Past-president
Photos courtesy of Karon Harrison, Reporter/Historian
