Last weekend, the Washington State PTA held its centennial celebration – to celebrate and learn from the past, so as to move forward and be the best we can be in providing for the health, education and welfare of our children.
We heard author/actor Henry Winkler (who was told he would never achieve because he had dyslexia) urge us to respect all children, to understand that “because you learn differently does not mean you don’t have greatness locked up inside you.”
We heard government/community relations director Gordon McHenry Jr., share Boeing’s support: “When future employees ask about education, we tell them to contact their local PTA.”
We heard Terry Bergeson, state superintendent of public instruction, pledge “to create a think tank for public policy to work together with WSPTA to get the problems out of the way and let the children come to the forefront.”
We heard Sen. Patty Murray exhort the value of PTA: “Everything I need to know about being a legislator, I learned from the PTA – leadership and organizational skills – how to be a member of my community, how to make my voice count to be an important part of the decisions made for my child.”
We heard Gov. Christine Gregoire extend an invitation and express her gratitude: “I want to invite the PTA to be a voice. I want to thank you for being so engaged. Our work helped us to put it all together.”
Finally, expressing McDonald’s commitment to local education, from, “Ronald McDonald” we heard the bottom line: “None of us is as good as all of us.”
Thank you and happy 100th birthday, Washington State PTA. Thanks to each of you who work to make tomorrow a brighter world for all of our children. Together, we can and do make a difference.
Mary Ainsworth
Silver Lake, Everett Council PTA
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