2018 HoD

TSTA Region 18

House of Delegates Meeting

April 7, 2018

Comfort Inn & Suites, Tyler

The meeting was called to order at 10:30am by Co-President Winifred Jackson. The Thought for the Day was delivered by Benita Bennett, Co-VP and the Pledges were led by Norma Waters, Co-VP.

The Welcome was delivered by Co-President Doris Hill, followed by Introductions of Officers and Guests by Winifred Jackson.

Credentials Committee Chairperson Wendy Bozarth announced 23 delegates and 7 guests. It was noted by Co-President Jackson that Garland had certified late but that the process had been completed and their delegates were seated. She then noted that a new local, Richardson, was represented, but had not been certified. She asked the body if they wished to seat the proposed delegate from Richardson. Sandra Patterson (North Lamar) moved, and Hilda Martinez (Garland) seconded, that the delegate be allowed to take her seat and vote. A show of hands by the members of the Board of Directors approved the motion and Michelle Usher was seated to represent Richardson.

An announcement was made that New Business Items would be accepted for the next hour. The time being 10:53 am, the hour would expire at 11:53 am.

The Standing Rules were approved as printed by voice vote (Koni Kaiwi [Garland] moved, Sandra Patterson [North Lamar] seconded).

The Agenda was adopted with the flexibility of order and changes of named individuals to take the jobs needed to accomplish the business of the house, since many alternates were taking the place of named delegates and individuals whose names were printed were not present. Voice approval was granted (Wendy Bozarth [North Lamar], moved; Sandra Patterson [North Lamar], seconded).

The Election Rules were discussed and both the rules and the appointment of an Elections Committee were approved (Koni Kaiwi [Garland] moved; Lucero Cazares-Rodriguez [Garland] seconded). Sandra Patterson (Chair), was joined by Shannon Isaac and Pat Ford on the Elections Committee.

A Special Committee was appointed to approve the Minutes of the 2018 House of Delegates. It consisted of Lucero Cazares-Rodriguez, Becky Cerliano and Alma Denkins.

Treasurer André Williams presented financial information and reported on the Audits of Regions 4A and 4B. This is the first year of existence for Region 18 and the financial merging of the two previous regions has been tumultuous, but has finally been achieved. The report was accepted by voice vote (Sandra Patterson [North Lamar] moved; Winnie Rose [Longview] seconded).

Officer elections were next on the agenda. To be elected were President (3-year term), Vice-President (3-year term) and Treasurer (2 years remaining on an unexpired term due to officer resignation).

After floor nominations, the following were the nominees for available offices:

According to the Election Rules, lots were drawn for order of speeches and speeches were limited to 3 minutes. This was followed by a secret ballot vote. A count of delegate signatures showed that 14 votes would be required to be elected. The Elections Committee then retired to count the ballots while the meeting continued.

A Hearing Committee was formed from accepted nominations and volunteers. Those elected to serve on this committee were Sandra Patterson (North Lamar), Jennifer Coulombe (Garland) and Alma Denkins (Longview).

The House adjourned into a 10 minute break. It reconvened at 12:14pm. The expiration of the one hour for presentation of New Business Items was announced. Two had been received and would be discussed in due course.

The Elections Committee (Sandra Patterson, Pat Ford, Shannon Isaac) presented the results of the ballot count.

These results were moved by Chair Sandra Patterson and accepted by voice vote of the delegates.

TSTA President Noel Candelaria spoke to the body, concentrating on the damage done to Public Education by our politicians and the need to vote pro-education candidates in the upcoming Elections.

Dale Kaiser, NEA Director-at-Large, brought greetings from the NEA and also included voting and influence on politicians.

He also encouraged members to vote and send in their ballots to elect statewide delegates to the NEA RA in Minneapolis, Minnesota this summer.

Staff Janna Connally spoke for just a moment about the work the staff is doing statewide and acknowledged that Free ‘til Fall is underway.

TSTA-Retired member Becky Cerliano, along with Frank Colbert and Lois Stephens-Colbert, updated the delegates on activities of TSTA-R and encouraged them to buy pre-Retired membership before the $50 cost increase upcoming in September. They also informed the group that the new TSTA-R State President will be Barbara Davis-Staley, who is a TSTA Region 18 resident living in Tyler.

Each of the officers presented a report of their activities related to their offices for this membership year. Many presented a written list, while others reported orally.

André Williams presented her report from the Legislative Committee, which only presented a single proposed change to the Legislative Program. She also reported on successes of the PAC Committee endorsements in the Primary Elections. A pitch was made for Continuing Contributors to the PAC, which is rewarding new members and upgrades with a leather portfolio.

Lucero Cazares-Rodriguez presented her report from the ESP Committee, which organized the statewide conference held the Sunday (April 22) after the State HoD in San Marcos.

Winifred Jackson reported her activities on the Budget Committee.

New Business Items that had been turned in were discussed next. It was pointed out that the Secretary has been unable to attend two of the three meetings this year, requiring the previous Secretary (now Webmaster) Becky Cerliano to record the minutes. An NBI was presented to add the officer position of Assistant Secretary to allow the region to always be in a position to conduct its business. Since an amendment to the By-Laws was required, and only the House of Delegates could perform that action, the NBI called for the new position to be added to the By-Laws immediately, which required a ⅔ vote. The NBI was moved by Lucero Cazares-Rodriguez (Garland) and seconded by Paige Allred (Garland). It passed with voice approval.

The second NBI required Region 18 to amend the By-Laws to allow the siting TSTA-R President to be a non-voting member of the Board of Directors when that individual lives in the Region. The NBI was moved by Winifred Jackson (Longview) and seconded by Doris Hill (Grand Prairie) and met the same requirements for passage as the first NBI. The motion received voice approval.

Since the By-Laws were amended to require an Assistant Secretary for the upcoming membership year, an additional election now became necessary.

Sandra Patterson (North Lamar) was nominated for the position. A call for additional nominations from the floor elicited no further names. A motion to elect Sandra by acclamation was made by Koni Kaiwi (Garland) and seconded by Winnie Rose (Longview). The motion was approved by voice vote.

Therefore the Officers for the 2018-2019 will be:

President Winifred Jackson Longview

Vice-President Norma Waters Garland

Secretary Roylena Stewart-Sparrow Tyler

Treasurer André Williams Tyler

Asst. Secretary Sandra Patterson North Lamar

The Final Credentials Report was presented by Wendy Bozarth (Chair), Winnie Rose and Karin Davison. There were 26 Delegates and 6 Guests.

The next meeting will be in May at a location and date to be determined.

The group was served a delicious barbecue lunch prepared by officers and delegates.

During lunch, Door Prize Raffle winners were presented their items.

All candidates for office requested Points of Personal Privilege to thank their supporters and thank the group for permitting them to serve, as appropriate.

The 2018 House of Delegates adjourned at 2:24 pm.