This event takes two parts to tell. Part one will be about getting there and Hill Day, while Part two will be about convention, the Gaylord Resort, and getting sick.
The 125th National PTA Legislative Conference and Convention was from June 14 - June 19. Part one will cover June 14 and June 15 - the struggle to get there and Hill Day.
National PTA turned 125 years old in February of 2022. 125 years. Wow. And for this great event, the Legislative Conference and the Convention were combined for the first time as a big celebration gala.
I woke up to bad news on Tuesday, June 14. My flight from Chattanooga to D.C. was canceled. I could take later flights to get there late. But before I could choose later flights, my president-elect called me and asked what should we do. She was thinking driving. Driving did not appeal to me nor to my back and legs. Especially that long of a drive. And the older I got, the more frequent I visited rest areas along the way and that would be embarrassing. But I decided to ride along with my legislative chair in her brand new SUV that was awesome ride. Our aim was to arrive in time to check in and to get to the Hill Day preparation sessions.
Driving to D.C. from Chattanooga requires taking 75 to 40, then 40 to 81, then 81 to 66, and then to the Gaylord Resort in Maryland. When I arrived at the resort -- wow, just mouth-dropping beauty and extravagance. I arranged for my suit clothes to be dry cleaned in two days because I got a huge discount on dry cleaning and I knew it would be hot and sweaty the next day on Capitol Hill. I mean June in D.C. is like the hottest, muggiest time of the year.
We arrived in time for the training sessions! Barely!
The next day was Hill Day. We were going to visit staff or representatives from the state of Tennessee. I love Legislative Conference. And this reminded me so much of my seminar days when I was student at the American University.
Me on the bus to Capitol Hill with my President of Tennessee PTA name badge.
One of the first views off the bus - the US Capitol!
The first bus of PTA leaders took a picture in front of the Capitol. It was so good to talk in person with State Presidents with whom I only met virtually through Zoom and Breakout rooms because of the pandemic. Many of us started as president-elects together and now we were presidents of our state PTA associations.
The Tennessee PTA group headed to the Rayburn House Office Building first to meet with two representatives. Here is a picture on a very hot day.
We visited with two representatives in the Rayburn House and then we visited more staff members on the Senate side. We even got a personal ride home back to the resort in time to hear about the winners of the PTA advocacy awards. All in all - a pretty good day!
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