2006 MEA-MFT Rep Assembly report

The 7th annual MEA-MFT Representative Assembly met Friday and Saturday, March 31-April 1, at the DoubleTree Inn in Missoula.

It what seemed like one swift moment, the nearly 300 delegates did the following;

• Re-elected Eric Feaver as president of MEA-MFT.

• Elected Larry Nielsen, Helena, our new vice president to assume office June 15, the day after Jim McGarvey leaves the position he has held since the merger of MEA and MFT six years ago.

• Re-elected Jeff Greenfield, Billings, and Sherry McMorris, Sidney, to continue to serve as secretary-treasurer and NEA director respectively.

• Elected Gaye Kopczynski, Billings, to assume the director-at-large position on the MEA-MFT board of directors.

• Elected Judie Woodhouse, Polson, to serve a two-year term as a state delegate to the NEA representative assembly.

• Elected and reelected members to the MEA-MFT board of directors to be announced when all board of director elections are concluded around the state.

• Named Bonnie Slough, Billings, MEA-MFT ESP of the Year. As we honored Bonnie posthumously for her contributions to the growth and strength of our union, Bonnie's family members honored us with their presence at our RA.

• Adopted four, basically housekeeping, amendments to our constitution.

• Embraced five amendments to our body of resolutions to underscore our commitment to professional development, Indian Education for All, prebudget negotiations, and union leave.

• Passed several new business items that demand our members' attention:
  

  • NBI #1 creates $200 scholarships for 20 relatively new MEA-MFT members to attend the annual Educators' Conference.
    

  • NBI #2 waives the Educators' Conference fee for all MEA-MFT members in their first three years of work - provided they preregister.
    

  • NBI #3 endorses Raise Montana (I-151) the ballot issue campaign to raise the Montana minimum wage by one dollar/hour.
    

  • NBI #4 condemns SOS (CI-97), the fraudulent ballot issue campaign to artificially cap state spending.

• Adopted a new legislative program.

• Adopted dues and a budget for our next fiscal year.

• Thanked Representative Bernie Olson for his personal strength and political courage.
  And

• Enjoyed a stream of delegate questions and comments, political action dollar raising activities, raffles, and yet another hilarious visit from "Membership Man."

In addition, delegates gathered Friday evening to celebrate the career of Jim McGarvey. Jim deserved a special evening of thanks, and he got it. Former Congressman and MEA-MFT member, Pat Williams, and AFT President, Ed McElroy, delivered memorable, moving remarks.

Finally let the record show that among our nearly 300 delegates, we counted the following:

• Two former Montana Teachers of the Year: Patty Myers and Judie Woodhouse, and the current Montana Teacher of the Year, Debbie Biegle.

• Two current members of the Montana Board of Public Education: Diane Fladmo and Patty Myers.

• One current member of the Certification Standards and Practices Advisory Council: Melody Smith Burreson.

• One current member of the Montana Board of Personnel Appeals: Allan Audet.

• Three current members of the Montana Teachers Retirement System Board of Directors: Mona Bilden, Darrell Layman, and Kari Peiffer.

And

• Four current Montana state legislators: Jill Cohenour, Robyn Driscoll, Tom Facey, and Wanda Grinde.

The MEA-MFT Representative Assembly is not to be missed. MEA-MFT urges every local to send delegates next year!