2019 Tennessee PTA Convention - April 25-28

The annual convention in 2019 was held in Memphis. I drove from Chattanooga to Memphis using what I call the southern route that runs along the northern top of Bama and Mississippi into southwestern Shelby County--Memphis.

The convention was a little different this year. It was held in a venue about two miles from the hotel. The venue closed at 7:30 pm. So there weren't any traditional separate goodbyes. Most of the board stayed until Sunday morning to leave, which is what I did.

My friend Larry and I decided to get BBQ for dinner Friday night and lo and behold everyone seemed to follow us! It was a great time. The next night after convention was over, we all went to Kooky Canuck. I had a great time with maple syrup steak and maple syrup drinks!

However, this convention was way different. I was nominated for an office position, which was not new to me, but this position was different. President elect. That means in two years, I would become president. But there was one more twist. For the first time, the election of the Tennessee PTA president elect would be contested.

Never in my entire life on the Tennessee PTA board did I ever think I would be challenged at an officer election before the 2017-2019 term. Something happened in the last 18 months resulting in a challenge. I knew it was coming. The election prep and going through it just added to the stress in making plans for the big event trip to Pensacola on the 1st of May.

But I made the best of it. Gave a solid campaign speech. Presented my workshop and gave information about a grant we had received. And was elected! Nevertheless, the end of convention for me was anticlimactic; I expected something big, but I was humbled by the election. Maybe that's what I needed after all--a shot of humility.

Talking about the education data grant to convention delegates

Convention forum

Being installed by former National PTA President Betsy Landers

A part of the 2019-2021 Executive Team as President elect of Tennessee PTA!

Education Data Training and Sage Advice

During the last three days of March, I attended training at the National PTA headquarters in Alexandria, VA. The training was about educational data and how we as group could educate parents on the data availability, how to interpret the data, and then how to advocate using the data. I was in the group representing Tennessee PTA, and there were four other groups there as well representing Ohio PTA, Virginia PTA, North Carolina PTA, and Florida PTA.

I think the best part of the training was about Ferpa/Sherpa and the importance of privacy to student data. Not enough parents know that their student data is protected.

Holiday Inn at Night

When I first arrived at the Holiday Inn in Alexandria, there were no rooms. So, we checked in our bags with the hotel porter and began walking the block down to where all of the restaurants were located.

I had explored Google Maps the days before the trip to find some good places to eat. There were quite a few. Plus, there was a grocery store chain, Harris Teeter, another block down to buy stuff for the hotel room refrigerator.

So, I told one of my colleagues about a hot dog place that made homemade fries and homemade shakes called Haute Dogs. It had received several good marks from fellow travelers on Google and on Trip Advisor, my two go-to sources of information for restaurant and hotel information when I travel.

Haute Dogs

Well, the reviewers didn't let us down! Wow, Haute Dogs is an excellent place to eat! I had the chipotle, bleu cheese, bbq sauce dogs covered with cheese and caramelized onions. Wow was that good. And the homemade fries were excellent.

We tried a sample of the cookies and cream homemade ice cream and loved it. We decided to come back after the  Friday training session for dessert.

Then we went down to Harris Teeter, bought some supplies, and finally after walking back up to the hotel, got into our rooms.

We went back to Haute Dogs with our Virginia PTA friends and they were impressed. They said they lived here and didn't know about the place. When I walked by on Saturday night, the line was out the door.  That should tell you something.

So, on Saturday evening, we had free time after enduring 8 hours of training. The other members of the Tennessee PTA group wanted to go into DC to look at monuments. Because I just toured the monuments for four days in December during graduation weekend,  I had no desire to go back so soon to look at them again. Instead, I went searching for a drink - a real drink, not soda or water.

Hanks Pasta Bar had a real bar and I was immediately seated at the bar in front of the crowd waiting for a table. I asked about the drink Offering Sage Advice and was told it was their most popular in-house drink. I decided to try it. Look at these ingredients! Old Forester Bourbon, Cinnamon, Thai Bird Chili, Orange, Sage, and Honey. The drink was totally awesome! The chili and sage and cinnamon combined for a powerful kicker after swallowing the bourbon. Man it was fantastic! If it hadn't cost $14, I would definitely have ordered another round.

Offering Sage Advice

Sunday after more training, we left for Tennessee. Here are some pictures from the National PTA headquarters in Alexandria, VA and some group pictures.

Journey to Kansas - Going Back to Tennessee via Springfield, Illinois

[Part Three of Four]

We woke up early on Labor Day 2018. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Library and Museum opened at 9:00 AM in Abilene, and we wanted to be somewhat close to there by then.

I remember my first visit to the Eisenhower Library. I was pretty young. The only thing I knew about Abilene was from the cowboy movies and from Gunsmoke about being a rowdy cowboy town. Back during that first visit, that was what I was half-expecting. But Abilene was not. Pretty slow town. I remember the chapel where Eisenhower was buried and his boyhood home. But I mostly remember on that visit long, long ago was visiting prairie dog town -- a large expanse of gopher rodents coming out of the ground.

Fast forward to 2018. While my family made several stops to the Eisenhower Library over the years, we only did the free stuff. The chapel, the house, walking around the grounds, browsing the stuff at the gift shop. This time was different. We were actually going to pay admission to visit the Museum and get it counted on the presidential library passport.

But, alas as we got to Abilene and to the Eisenhower Center, the Museum was closed for repairs! All of the exhibits were moved to the Library. Most Presidential Libraries are off limits except for authorized researchers, but this time, the staff was allowing anyone to visit the Library as part of the Museum exhibit.

Library entrance

The exhibit showed the timeline of Eisenhower's life, especially through the military, how his coast to coast convoy as a young lieutenant led to a personal desire for better roads (hence the Interstate System was approved during his term as President) and the interactions he had with other military leaders.

One thing I didn't know. Eisenhower signed the law to create NASA. This led to JFK being able to promise to land a man on the moon.

Outside on the grounds is the Peace Monument. It is General Eisenhower statue surrounded by a large peace medallion. Peace was very important to President Eisenhower. Here is a picture of the statue and me casting shadows on the dove symbol.

After finishing up at the Eisenhower Center, we drove east, leaving the state of Kansas at the Kansas City, Missouri city limits, as we drove to the Truman Presidential Library. This was a five-minute stop to get the passport stamped verifying our last visit in July 2015.

Leaving the Truman Library, we decided to head north, not east from the KC area. A few miles north of Worlds of Fun, we turned onto US 36, a four-lane highway all the way to Interstate 72, headed to Springfield, Illinois for the night. Since I wasn't driving, I reminisced about US 36. US 36 runs all the way Denver. It goes through the town where I went to high school, where I dragged main on Friday nights. So, US 36 played a big part in my life - going to events in Phillipsburg, Norton, Mankato, Belleville. The way to Concordia. All the towns in my high school year. And when I was a junior in college, I drove all night and most of the next day using East US 36 until I had to get on the Interstate. The same route we were on now in Missouri.

We got to Springfield, Illinois, the state capital a little after 7:00. We were surprised at how rural it was almost up to the city limits. And how quiet the city was. I had reserved a hotel several weeks before the trip that was the closest to the Amtrak station. My daughter would be taking Amtrak back to her home. I didn't realize how close the state capitol building was to the hotel. Here's a view from the front door of the hotel.

Illinois State Capitol from hotel front door

I think Illinois got it right. A small state capital makes it easier for everyone to access state government, unlike Nashville in Tennessee. 

After dinner, we took a walk around the Capitol and took several pictures. Here is one of those pictures. 

A beautiful building! We had to get up early the next morning - one of us had to catch a train, and another had a seven-hour solo drive back home to Chattanooga. Part four will be the last part of this series - the long solo drive home.