For more than 100 years, the Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

has provided support, information and resources to families focused

on the health and education of children. The organization

was founded in 1897 in Washington DC as the National Congress

of Mothers by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson

Hearst. If not for these women and their vision and determination,

there would not be a PTA—an organization that has been

woven into the very fabric of American life.

PTA was created to meet a profound challenge: to better the lives of

children. And today, it continues to flourish because PTA has

never lost sight of its goal: to change the lives of children across

our great nation for the better.

I would like to invite you to attend the 2010 Oklahoma PTA Convention

as we take time to visit our past and explore the future of

PTA. Convention offers the opportunity to look at where we are,

where we are going, and how we’re going to get there.

There are opportunities for each of you at convention this year.

You will have the opportunity to participate in workshops and

business sessions that will not only provide you with information

that you need to make your PTA successful, but will also inspire

you as an individual. Come network with members across the

state and gather contacts and resources that are invaluable to us

all.

I hope to see you in Tulsa in July as we continue to embrace the

challenge and continue working towards the goal: to change the

lives of children across our great nation for the better.

Sheila Groves

President

Oklahoma PTA