I had a great time in Sacramento! I went alone but met some great people. The PTO moms from Mt. Vernon, WA were so nice. Thanks Kelley, Stacey, Gianna, and Janet!!! I got some FABULOUS ideas to use this next year as Pres. Christy and Patti were so friendly. It's great to get to know the face along with the name. Tim and staff, thank you for an AWESOME conf.
Been pretty busy since returning from the Sacramento conference... had to tell everybody about all the great ideas we brought home!
The four of us that attended from WA state had a wonderful experience. We loved the PTO Today folks and the awesome leaders from other schools that we met!
Gianna is very excited about how to welcome new families to our school... she's already getting us geared up to go to the local preschools to meet our new parents. She also came home with the idea that we should do Mariachi Madness Night at our school. Now, Gianna is my best friend and I have to tell you, she's not easily excited. For the PTO Today Conference to work it's magic on her really says something about the quality of the experience!
Janet is geared up for our new PTO Manager system... and we've already got our school's Volunteer Coordinator and many teachers excited about using it! (And, I love my new "My parent group rocks! tee shirt!!!) Also, Janet found Christy Forhan to be incredibly knowledgable... she already implementing many of the suggestions Christy gave her.
Stacey, who has been pretty burned out this year (she's just done with organizing fundraisers!), came home refreshed and energized. She's eager to begin our new PTO newsletter... I haven't seen her this excited in quite a while-- Thanks, Craig!
I have a new hero-- Rich Linden's presentation on how to get more men involved really got me going! Also, we're adopting his attitude of "The PTO-- It's a Party and everyone's invited!" as our new mantra.
Can't wait to see everybody next year... we will definitly be sending members next year! (Can I vote now for the Seattle area?)
I (along with 2 others) attended the PTO Today conference in Sacramento yesterday as well. I received a lot of information and ideas. The three of us will be bringing the wealth of information that we received from the conference to our group. We are looking forward to finishing this year on a positive note, and starting the new one in the right direction.
I agree with Blondie... the day was "well thought out, put together, and AWESOME!" Thanks for this great sight as well, where all us crazy people can get together to "vent" and share ideas!
Kudos to the PTO Today Staff... you guys and gals ROCK!!!
WOW!!!! What a wonderful event! I left feeling rejuvenated and full of wonderful ideas. All I am doing today is organizing them all. [img]tongue.gif[/img] Thank You PTOToday for such an amazing event. I look forward to next years conference!
Blondie- I'm really glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much! These conferences are really rejuvenating to ones soul!Tim and gang really know how to get the blood pumping again....
I just returned from the Sacramento Conference. Although I'm not a new PTO parent, been involved in PTO's for over 12 years, I am a newbie when it comes to the PTO Today world and a first time conference attendee.
What a well thought out, put together, AWESOME, day we had. The ideas that came out of these sessions was truly a "light bulb" moment in many ways. Most of us (PTO parents) do alot of the same things at our schools, auctions, carnivals, jog a thons, trying to recruit, getting dads to be more involved etc.,however many of us had a little added flair that has worked successfully that made a difference. I'm thankful we have a forum where these ideas can be shared.
Thanks Tim and Mike and all the others who work so hard to put together these conferences. I do hope next year you will again be in our area. For those of you who have never attended you really need to make an effort to go. It is so worth it!!!!
