|
Chapter Login
Membership
Members Area
|
|
|
Date: 12/31/04
"OFFERING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CLOSER TO HOME"
With the close of the calendar year, PPS completed the series of Regional Meetings planned for chapters for Summer and Fall 2004. In Houston, Texas on November 5-6, representatives from six chapters enjoyed catching up with each other and experiencing a weekend of training in our two topic areas. Representatives came from our chapters in Houston, Tyler & Waco, TX; Columbia, MO; Jefferson Davis County, MS and Memphis, TN.
The final regional meeting for 2004 was held December 3-4 in Portland, Oregon. It drew participants from four chapters: Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; Grand County, UT; and Springfield, IL.
The regional meetings - organized by Amina Shahid-El Turner - were well received. Besides enjoying the company and the stiumlation from spending time with committed PPS members and sharing stories and ideas, participants appreciated and learned from the content of the two main training sessions: Fundraising and Membership/Organization building. We received some good recommendations on how to strengthen the training sessions; for providing more time for participants to plan and work with each other; and for additional topics to tackle in future regional meetings. Overall, participants wanted "more-more-more" of the content and the opportunity to meet and work together with other chapter representatives.
Some signs of commitment and engagement we saw at the two latest regional meetings: Seven PPS members from the Jefferson Davis County Chapter drove to Houston for the meeting! Three PPS chapter members from Grand County drove four hours to the Salt Lake City airport to catch a flight to Portland to meet and work with other PPSers there. Many chapter members spent hours traveling to the regional meetings (we think of the New York contingents from Buffalo and Syracuse who drove long hours to the earlier regional meeting in Cleveland). Participants in the Portland regional meeting spent at least the last hour and a half at the end of a long Saturday, working together and planning how to "take it home." And take it home they did, with filled out workplan charts. All participants in regional meetings have their stories about getting inspired to do more, to continue and expand their interest in carrying out the PPS work in their chapters.
The lead trainers for the regional meetings included Amina Shahid-El Turner and national PPS board member Myrna Castrejon in Houston for membership building, and Gopika Malhotra and consultant Marianne Philban for fundraising. In Portland, Cynthia Guyer, Director of the Portland Schools Foundation, conducted the fundraising session and Myrna Castrejon and Ken Rolling conducted the membership building session. Many thanks to our talented trainers and facilitators and to all those chapter members who made the extra effort to attend.
Back
|
|
