OCAE

Onslow County Association of Educators

Local President Joycelyn Cassidy welcomes you to your site!

A Fond Farewell to Hiawatha Foster

NCAE Colleagues,
     Today is Friday, August 31, 2007.  The NEA governance and fiscal year runs from September 1 through August 31.
     Therefore, we are in the final 24 hours of the Hiawatha Foster Era of NEA leadership.   She is ending a six-year term on the NEA Board of Directors. During the last two years, Hiawatha has held the distinction of being the "Senior NEA Director" from North Carolina.   NEA expects that the longest-serving current Director will be the coordinator of NEA activities for each state. Hiawatha has served admirably in that role and has been the "go-to person" on NEA issues for North Carolina.
     Of course, we all know that Hiawatha has served NCAE in numerous positions on the building, local, district, and state levels.   She has had a couple of stints on the NCAE Board of Directors and she has served as president of her local association. In addition, Hiawatha has visited North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia as a participant at conventions of Education International (EI) or the old World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession (WCOTP).  Her international participation at these conferences reached a capstone in July.   She was selected to be one of the 50 official NEA delegates to the EI World Congress in Berlin.
     Hiawatha will pass the senior leadership baton to Susan Martin. Susan and Melissa Bartlett sat with Hiawatha during the past few years at the Washington meetings of the NEA Board of Directors. Hiawatha has been a model of leadership and Susan will build upon that leadership as the new Senior NEA Director.
Dawn Shephard Pope from Wake County will be the newest NEA Director from North Carolina and will assume her position at the stroke of midnight on Saturday, September 1.
     The 2007-08 North Carolina delegation on the NEA Board of Directors will include Susan, Melissa, and Dawn as the three regular directors.  Agnes Chavis will continue to serve on the NEA Board as a nationwide Director for Retired members.   John Lucas will continue to serve as the only NEA Honorary Director. Dr. Lucas has held this position for more that thirty years.   He serves in this capacity as a tribute to the work that he and others did to advance the cause of inclusion and diversity at the NEA level.
     We will continue to benefit from Hiawatha's leadership within the NCAE family. She will serve as the District 3-B President and she will work with 3-B District Director Doris Bridgers to coordinate the activities of that area of the NCAE structure.   During all of her international, national, and state leadership time, Hiawatha has maintained her responsibilities as the Association Rep at Myers Park High School in Charlotte.  Above all else, Hiawatha is an ardent NCAE recruiter. She is a stanch advocate and a sterling symbol of the association with our school-level members.
     Thank you very much, Hiawatha Foster.   You have had a glorious tenure at the national level.
     Eddie Davis
     NCAE President

NCAE’s Political Arm Makes Recommendation to Members

--A Statement by NCAE President Eddie Davis—

August 25, 2007

After reviewing gubernatorial candidates’ responses to a 23-item questionnaire, after evaluating their responses in an hour-long interview, and after examining their past public records, the NCAE Government Relations Commission (GRC) voted today to recommend to the membership of the Association the endorsement of Bev Perdue for Governor of North Carolina.

The GRC is composed of 26 members of the Association representing all geographical areas of the state and all constituent groups of the Association, including teachers, Educational Support Personnel, administrators, and retired educators.

NCAE invited potential 2008 gubernatorial candidates to participate in the questionnaire process and the oral interview. On Saturday, the GRC interviewed the following candidates for Governor: State Treasurer Richard Moore (D), Justice Bob Orr (R), Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue (D), and Senator Fred Smith (R). Mr. Bill Graham’s (R) schedule could not accommodate the NCAE interview schedule.

Ballots will be distributed to all 70,000 members of the NCAE. The NCAE-PAC Guidelines require that 60% of those voting must concur with GRC’s recommendation before the Association has an endorsed candidate.

Ballots will be sent to our members for their concurrence vote. The local presidents will forward results to the Government Relations Department at NCAE or bring them to a special Ratification Assembly at the Association headquarters in Raleigh on Saturday, September 29. After the results of the canvassing process are finalized, President Davis will announce the results to the membership and media.

NCAE-GRC is recommending Bev Perdue to the membership for the following reasons:

· The long working partnership the Association has had with Bev Perdue during her tenure in the North Carolina House, the North Carolina Senate, and as Lieutenant Governor.

· Bev Perdue’s instrumental leadership in the General Assembly with the Excellent Schools Act of 1996 which launched the drive to move North Carolina teachers salaries to the national average, the Site-Based Decision Making legislation of the early 1990’s, the creation of the Teacher Academy, North Carolina’s support for National Board Certification, and other issues.

· Bev Perdue’s commitment to a professional salary schedule for teachers.

· Bev Perdue’s commitment to improve working conditions for school employees and learning conditions for students.

· Bev Perdue’s support of the Association’s Teacher Cadet program as a mechanism for increasing the pool of potential teachers.

“I am very proud of the fair and open interaction the Government Relations Commission had with all candidates that appeared before it today. After careful deliberation and thoughtful discussion, the GRC overwhelmingly voted to recommend Bev Perdue to our membership.”

Be sure to visit www.ncae.org for more news you can use!

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Marjorie Jones

910 353 2147

wemattertoo@hotmail.com

TEACHING, THE PROFESSION THAT CREATES ALL OTHERS.

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