National PTA Convention: Part One Getting to D.C. and Hill Day

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!

June 2022 Tennessee Library Association Board Meeting

On Friday, June 10, I drove to Nashville to a transition meeting. The meeting was for the outgoing and the incoming board of directors for the Tennessee Library Association. Except this transition meeting was different for me -- I would become President of the Tennessee Library Association. 

Yes - president of two statewide advocacy membership-based associations!

I got to Nashville a little bit early which gave me time to self-tour the new Tennessee State Library and Archives Building. What a beautiful building! 

There were several exhibits in the main foyer. One was a historical tour of Tennessee counties with images, digital displays, and timelines. I found this picture about Hamilton County history on the civil rights protest in downtown Chattanooga.

During the board meeting, there was on the meeting agenda the transition of receiving the gavel from the current president to the incoming president. Here I am receiving the TNLA gavel.

After the board meeting, I drove down to the Holiday Inn where Tennessee PTA leadership team was staying. I had a great time getting caught up with leadership training that was happening at the same time as the TNLA board meeting. Talk about two worlds conflicting! I was able to take the team out to dinner and signed a few checks for reimbursement.

I was wanting to stop in Manchester to see the state park, but I did not feel like arriving home later and fighting the bottleneck traffic that is Chattanooga. Maybe, another time.

The TNLA gavel is on my office desk in the library.

 My name listed on the TNLA website.

Mother's Day 2022 Mini-Vacay: Red Clay and Georgia

Well we were going to celebrate Mother's Day a day early by going to Cookeville. And on our way there we decided to go itinerary free. So we changed directions from going North to East.

First unplanned stop? Red Clay State Historic Park. Red Clay was the Cherokee Capitol in Exile while fighting the forced removal from their lands to Oklahoma. The hallowed grounds at Red Clay were utilized as assembly areas for general councils of the Cherokee Nation from 1832 to 1838. Forcible removal to internment camps and then to Oklahoma began in 1838. The Trail of Tears is just a horrible historical legacy of our country -- all in the name of gold and land.

There is a connection here at Red Clay. A grandfather-in-law and a grandmother-in-law were half Cherokee. My wife and children are connected to this hallowed place.

The Eternal Flame of the Cherokee Nation - a very moving sight to stand there and wonder why it happened. 

The beautiful acreage surrounding the Eternal Flame and a pastoral look at the Red Clay Capitol of the Cherokees.

The beautiful Blue Hole Spring that sat on the opposite side of the council seats. It is here the Cherokee Nation designates as the starting point of the Trail of Tears.

There is a large sign by the council area stating the reasons why the Cherokee Nation in Exile said no to forced removal. They said no. They said no despite being surrounded by federal troops. 

If you ever get a chance to visit Red Clay State Historic Park, it is worth the time to wonder and to learn. There is a giftshop inside the park entrance building. Dogs can be on leashes on the walking paths.

We drove the 100 feet from Red Clay park into Georgia and made our way to highway 71 and headed south.  We decided to head to Dalton and then cut back east on 76 to Chatsworth. You can tell you are getting to the higher elevations of the Appalachians near Chatsworth.

Then we decided to go even further east to Ellijay. At Ellijay we found a place to eat lunch. I had purchased several gift cards for G for Mother's Day. We used one of the gift cards for lunch. Then we used another gift card to reserve a hotel room in Canton while we were eating lunch.

We got on the four-lane state highway 515 to head south to Canton, which turns into interstate 535 about halfway there from Ellijay. 535 was built to handle commuter traffic to and from Atlanta. 

We found our hotel - a brand new Holiday Inn built on the outskirts of Canton. 

We picked up dinner from Longhorn and got some snacks at the Publix next door. The next day, we took highway 20 out of Canton and found Interstate 75 to head north back to Chattanooga. On the way there, we stopped at our first Buccees in Calhoun and picked up some delicious fudge!

The Seal of the Cherokee Nation, Red Clay.