Officers' Messages It's not quite time to gear up for spring (remember to have winter supplies on hand and wrap those pipes!); however, this is a great time to decide which training workshops you'll be attending the the next few months.  In March, District Attorney, Curtis Leonard will present part two of Legal Issues in Schools.  This workshop will be held on a waiver day to maximize participation.  Based on the number of people who attended the first legal issues workshop, we'll have two packed sessions.  This is great! March 6-8, the Washington Association of Educational Office Professionals (WAEOP) will hold a spring training conference.  The conference is being held in Tacoma, and it historically proved beneficial to those who attend.  If you are not a member of WAEOP and/or NAEOP, visit the association website(s) or contact Cris and she can e-mail membership forms to you. Thank you to everyone who sold a book and to those who purchased a book--now, remember to use it!  You helped AAEOP raise funds that will go to scholarships for graduating seniors, support professional development for educational office professionals, and build the AAEOP emergency-relief fund.  Our top sellers were Loretta Kingsolver, who sold 13 books and Debra Keeley, who sold 11.  We hope to announce our next fundraiser in time for winter gift-giving shopping!  Be watching for details and make plans to be involved!  Randy Dorn won the election for the office of superintendent of public instruction; he will be sworn into office in January.  Randy will be serving in an advisory capacity to the newly appointed PSE Executive Director, George Dockins, until he takes office as superintendent of public instruction.  With George's appointment as executive director, former PSE Vice-president, Judi Owens will now serve as president.  In January, PSE will conduct an election to fill the vacant vice president position.  All PSE members in good standing are eligible to run for this position.  Our congratulations to Randy Dorn, George Dockins, and Judi Owens.  We wish them great success in their new positions and look forward to their leadership and support of classified employees and improvement in education. You have the opportunity to nominate a fellow AAEOP member who has made an outstanding contribution to education, whether it is through classroom teaching, professional development, etc.  Nominees will be considered for the Auburn School Board's staff member-of-the-month award and will be featured in the Staff Links newsletter.  Only ten employees are honored annually.  A nomination form has been sent to you via e-mail (by Deyanna).  If you have questions about the nomination process, award, or Staff Links, contact Amy Spence (publications/grants supervisor) at 253-931-4713. Please take the time to nominate someone from AAEOP who you feel has done or is doing an outstanding job.  I (Deyanna King) serve on this committee and every meeting the AEA representative comes in with a huge list of certificated staff to nominate.  I would like to see more classified staff members recognized for the excellent jobs they perform—we too are valuable employees of the district!  If you do not wish to nominate an AAEOP member at this time, think about other classified staff you work with or have worked with—cooks, custodians, bus drivers, para educators, etc., and send a nomination for the committee to review for these recognitions. Participation is key to the many AAEOP functions and to many of the association success stories; we strongly encourage you to be an active participant in the activities of your professional association.  To those of  you who attended the legal issues workshop facilitated by District Attorney, Curtis Leonard, thank you.  Also, hats off to you for taking time for personal and professional enrichment that will have a positive affect on customer service and consistency throughout the district.  Sue Wade's name was drawn from ticket given when workshop participants donated a non-perishable food item for the Auburn Food Bank.  During the short time it took attendees to sign in, 115 items were collected!  Great going AAEOP members!  If you were not able to attend the workshop and wish to donate to the food bank (or if you wish to make another donation), a collection bin is available at the administrative annex.  If you send a monetary donation in the form of a check (to Deyanna King, payable to the Auburn Food Bank), your gift is tax deductible.  Your donations are appreciated and are helping the food bank keep its doors open. Members of WAEOP's planning committee for Spring Conference (March 6-8, in Tacoma) ask for your suggestions for conference break-out sessions and your input is vital.  You are invited to provide feedback for "Shine Your Star" breakout sessions by taking the survey at the WAEOP website (or click here for a direct link to the survey).  The survey takes just a couple minutes and will provide conference planners valuable feedback that will help assure learning and growing experiences that will be applicable to member needs.  As you take the survey, consider which of the topics might be good for an AAEOP workshop!  If a topic appeals to you, let Jonna May (AAEOP vice president and professional development/workshop committee chair) hear from you!  We look forward to Jonna May's active involvement not only as AAEOP's vice-president, but also as the workshop/professional development chair.  We hope you will contact her to offer your assistance, suggestions, and/or comments.  Like every other member of the executive board, she is here to serve you--the AAEOP member!  W A N T E D - - - Committee Members!  A few committee positions still need to be filled and we're sure there is a spot where your expertise, talent, or training can be used for the benefit of the association.  Please volunteer to chair or serve on one (or more) of the following committees: association newsletter (Editor, Debra White) awards audit and nominating historian/photographer scholarship fundraising spring installation and awards banquet (Chair, Debra White) telephone/legislation executive safety professional development (Chair, Jonna May) Please contact either of us if you are interested in serving on a committee.  Serving in this capacity is a great way to be involved, spread your AAEOP wings, earn points for a Professional Standards Program (PSP) certificate upgrade, recertification, or new application. We are providing a link to a scanned copy of the pay scale (from the negotiated agreement) for your reference.  If you have questions about it, please contact either of us. Deyanna King and Debbie Strand, co-presidents