I hope each one of you have had a safe and restful summer. Schools beginning will soon be here.

I went to a funeral recently in Davie County. One of our own, Francis O'Neal, passed away on July 4th. Francis was a TA for 25 years. She could have retired last year, but she still wanted to minister to her EC children and wasn't ready to retire. She found out about two months ago she had pancreatic cancer. She retired 3 weeks before she went to be with our Lord. I always go to a funeral wanted to give the family my love and encouraging words. But I was the one truly blessed yesterday. I was introduced to her husband and he was told I was with NCATA. He looked at me with tears streaming down his face and these were his words to me. "Please keep the organization running and going strong. NCATA was something she really believed in and was one of her loves." Oh, how that touched my heart. I looked at him and told him we were going to remain strong and she certainly would be well remembered for her hard work for NCATA. In fact one of the TAs came up to me and told me Francis had insisted that she join NCATA and become involved. Francis led the Davie County association for several years. Davie County is one of the strongest local associations I have encountered. She was definitely an example of the best of NCATA.

I know you tire of hearing this, but membership is crucial. I or any of the other officers can NOT promote our organization alone. As I said at conference, you ALL are the wind beneath our wings. So lets SOAR. Go ahead and renew your membership this fall and look for new members! Remember, every associate member helps us also.

I LOVE you all and let me know how I can help YOU!

Judy Barnes
NCATA State President 2009-2011
email: jbarnes AT teacherassistants.org