PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Judye Foy, International President
Since I have had many questions on what the International level does for our chapters, regional councils, and zones, I decided to dedicate my first message to you in this Online Newsletter to addressing this subject.
1. The International governing body is the International Board of Directors (IBOD), which is composed of eight International Officers elected by you, the members, and the Zone Presidents from each of our ten zones. These members are required to attend three International board meetings--which last an entire weekend-starting Friday morning at 8 AM and ending on Sunday at Noon. This means most members must travel on Thursdays to arrive on time and take vacation days to cover these meetings. They are also required to attend the International Convention and work at least eight hours. In addition, the International Officers are required to attend Zone Conferences and give at least two workshops to help train the membership. There is no salary for any of these duties. Each International Officer receives a budget of approximately $1,300 per year for travel and other expenses. The rest is out of their pocket.
2. The IBOD maintains the Not-For-Profit 501(C) 3 IRS status that covers your chapter. If the International level loses this designation, so do the franchises. Then you would be subject to taxes on the money you make. Each year we are required to list every franchise that we maintain with the IRS. This is done by our International Legal Counsel.
3. PWP International covers all paid members with insurance so that if they are injured at any chapter, regional, zone, or international function they have coverage. You pay us $3.00 per member for this insurance, and it currently costs International $3.25 per member.
4. International processes your membership, making corrections, deletions, additions, provides membership cards, runs reports, mails both your reports and renewal notices for your chapter, which saves you money on postage and envelopes in addition to the time for someone to do it.
5. International has a Legal Counsel on retainer and if your chapter should be sued, since you are a franchise of the International Corporation, he handles the legal aspects for both International and the chapters. He also handles any suits against the International organization.
6. International responds to the media (national, regional, and local) and promotes the organization. We also respond to prospective members and refer them on to your chapters. We now have PWP mentioned in eight books, two videos, three brochures, and numerous articles in magazines and newspapers. We currently have banners on the website KidsEdge.com advertising PWP at no cost to the organization.
7. International maintains an award winning website which lists your chapter's name, address, phone number, and links to your chapter website if you have one. Our website also has a chat room for members only where you may chat with other PWP members, a Message Board where you may post messages or ask for input from other chapters or members, a News & Events page where you can post your chapter, region, zone activities, an Online Shopping Mall where you can shop conveniently for quality products, save money, and support PWP at the same time. And last but not least, there is a Kids Page where our children may post messages for other PWP kids, a Kids Pen Pal page, and a list of kid-safe links.
8. International maintains complete sets of manuals to help your chapter/region/zone operate smoothly. These can be purchased slightly above cost. They range from the Constitution and ByLaws, Policy Manual, Interpretations Manual, and Standing Rules (what is commonly known as "gray paper"), to the Chapter Manual, Secretary's Guidelines, Treasurer's Manual, Community Involvement Manual, Public Relations Manual, Legislative Action Kit, Single Parent Congress Manual, Family & Youth Manual, Awards Manual, Membership Manual, Programs & Education Manual-to name a few.
9. PWP International maintains partnerships with the U. S. Dept. Of Education, which helps our members and their children get funding for their education by contacting 1-800-4FIN AID; with the U. S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Initiative (YSAPI) who keeps us informed on drug issues and furnishes literature on what to do to help your kids, and the Parenting Coalition International (PCI) who keeps us informed on issues of importance to single parents.
10. We have an Awards Program to recognize your chapter for the work that you do. All you have to do is enter your portfolio in the category it should go in. Send it to your Regional Council Awards Chair, who will take it from there. We also honor the International Single Parent of the Year, International Youth of the Year, Distinguished Service to Children, Distinguished Service to PWP Children-all of which your chapter may send entries in for. Awards are presented at the International Convention each year. This year, Dolly Parton was the recipient of the Distinguished Service to Children Award for her Dollywood Foundation's program to purchase books for every child in her home county in Tennessee.
11. PWP International has a scholarship program for our children, whereby the children of our members receive scholarships based on the portfolios they submit. These scholarships range from $500 to $1,000. One scholarship is awarded per Zone each year.
12. PWP International has an insurance program for members who need insurance.
13. PWP International has a credit card to help our members get the credit they deserve.
14. We maintain an International Office to handle all the administrative items and membership items such as the prospective member line and special mailings. The cost of this office has been greatly reduced since our move from Chicago a year ago.
15. PWP International has a Paine Weber account managed by the International Treasurer which helps us maintain the security of PWP. The Treasurer also handles all the monetary transactions for the IBOD and ensures our funds are spent wisely.
16. We host an International Convention each year in different areas of the country to provide training, elect International Officers, and hold an annual Corporate Meeting. This is the opportunity for you, the members, to address IBOD and the membership and give your chapter's views about the inner workings of PWP. We are required by our corporate status to have an annual corporate meeting, so even if we cut out the workshops, awards luncheon and other things, we would still be required to have the corporate meeting.
17. PWP International currently has an International PR campaign going on which is being handled by a New York PR firm. The first public service announcement video started showing on April 12, and as of June 12 it had been shown on 90 television stations nationwide.
18. Your membership card allows you to attend any PWP function in the 50 United States and all the Canadian provinces.
2000 Convention A Rousing Success!
By Kay Brewer, 2000 Convention Chairman
The time was the afternoon of Monday, July 3, 2000 at the Radisson Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas. The ConventionChairman dialed a number and waited anxiously for the phone to be answered. "Grayline Bus Tours," she heard the voice at the other end of the line&"may I help you?" "YES!" The Chairman answered frantically. "When I booked your bus for a tour tomorrow, I had 43 people signed up, and now I have almost 60 people who want to go. Can you get us a bigger bus? Please???" She waited breathlessly for the reply. After a seemingly endless pause, the voice came back over the line&."We have a 55 passenger bus available-will that help?" Hallelujah! Surely a 55 passenger bus will be big enough for everyone who wants to go on the Fort Worth/Dallas sightseeing tour! "We'll take it", the Chairman replied. "Thank you!"
The time was 8 AM on the morning of Tuesday, July 4, 2000 in the Lobby of the Radisson Hotel. So many people milling around, she thought&surely this has to be more than 55 people&and it was! The tour bus arrived, the 55 people who had signed up for the trip were loaded and, unfortunately, there were several who had not made prior reservations who were unable to go on the tour due to space limitations. The moral to this story is, make your reservations early for the pre-convention sightseeing tours when you register for the 2001 Annual Convention in Toronto! If you wait till the last minute, you may get left behind!
Our 55 passengers enjoyed a full day of sightseeing around the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, stopping for tours of various places in Dallas, and, of course, the famous Stockyards area of Fort Worth, arriving back at the hotel weary but ready for the Fireworks Show on Tuesday night.
The Convention opened on Wednesday morning, July 5th, with the Parade of Flags, and our thanks go to Keith Nelson and Harriet West for doing their usual great job. Announcements were made, schedules were checked, the candidates for office made their campaign speeches, and we were off to a flying start! Zone caucuses, workshops, the Awards Breakfast, more workshops, election of officers, dancing, sightseeing, more workshops, sightseeing, the Annual Meeting, more workshops, the installation of the new officers, the President's Banquet and Ball, all brought us to the Closing Session on Sunday morning, brains swirling with our newly learned knowledge and bodies weary, but already making plans to attend the next Convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 4 - 8, 2001 at the Wyndham Bristol Place Hotel! Registration information will be available in late January or early February 2001, but early information indicates that costs will be approximately the same as for the 2000 Convention. Watch for your copy of The Single Parent Convention Issue to be mailed to your door (or PO Box) in February along with the Online Newsletter.
Officers elected by the delegates to serve PWP for the coming two years are: President--Judye Foy; Secretary-Kay Brewer; VP Membership-Mary Ellen Hughes, and VP Community Relations-Barbara Spade. Ongoing officers (who will be up for re-election in 2001) are: AVP-David Syrkus, Treasurer-Georgia Frady, VP Family & Youth-Judy Lloyd, and VP of Programs & Education-Gene Tonnies. All these officers are listed on the IBOD page, and would welcome your questions, ideas and suggestions.
THANK YOU! As most of you know, each year the Local Convention Committee selects a charity to benefit from the Community Involvement Activity at the Convention. The 2000 Local Committee selected "A Wish With Wings" as the 2000 recipient. This is a group which provides trips to terminally ill children. Chapters conducted fund raisers, and donations were collected during the Convention, and when all was said and done and the pennies and dollars counted, Parents Without Partners made a donation of $1,077.08 to A Wish With Wings. Thanks, everyone - we appreciate all your contributions and hard work to make this donation possible.
As the Convention Chairman, I would like to say that I appreciate all the hard work from all the Local Committee members, the International Convention Committee, the International Board, and all the members who pitched in and helped when it counted! There are too many to name everyone, but "You know who you are"! The kids went to Camp El Tesoro at Granbury, Texas - the Camp Fire Boys & Girls camp, and, from all reports, had a wonderful time. The Evaluation Sheets have been turned in, both on the individual workshops and the overall convention, and have been evaluated and recapped for the next year's Convention Committee and the IBOD. I think this year those who attended could appreciate the innovations that proved that the Committee does listen to the members and does their best to accommodate the requests and suggestions we receive.
TREASURER'S REPORT
Statement of Revenue and Disbursements
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2000
(preliminary and unaudited)
REVENUE
Dues $475,200
Insurance 104,508
Interest 41,510
Convention 5,939
Member Services 3,433
Other 2,853
Total Revenue $633,444
DISBURSEMENTS
Administrative $181,345
Membership Publications 257,848
(Single Parent) 28,473
Volunteers 79,860
Outreach 17,510
Total Disbursements $570,798
Net Revenue $ 62,643
Yes, it does say Net Revenue! There are no brackets around the bottom line, nor any minus signs. Parents Without Partners, Inc. actually has posted Net Revenue of over $60,000 for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2000! As Treasurer, I want to express my appreciation to the members of the International Board of Directors, the staff of Magellan Management Group, and to the entire organization for all your efforts to control expenditures while increasing revenues! Our work in this area is far from over, but we have certainly taken a step in the right direction!
GEORGIA F. FRADY
International Treasurer
MEMBERSHIP REPORT
By Mary Ellen Hughes, International Vice President of Membership
[email protected] 904-278-1867-home, 904-278-6100-fax
I want to thank each of you for allowing me another opportunity to serve as VP of Membership. If you should have questions, suggestions, or comments concerning membership, please don't hesitate to ask. I look forward to serving you, the members, Chapters, Regional Councils, and Zones for the upcoming two years. THANKS!!
We have the direct renewal system working well, membership cards should be received by renewing members within 15 days of mailing their check to the Office. If by chance this has not been the case for you, please let the Office know that you have not received your membership card. Give them your name, address, membership number, and chapter number so it can be researched and the problem corrected. The Office may be contacted by e-mail at [email protected]
The International Board members are working hard to update all the Manuals. The Chapter Manual is in the process of being updated, and hopefully will be available by the end of the year. There is a new Membership Manual, which may be ordered from me, just send me $5.00. Most all of the other manuals are being worked on; we will let you know as they become available.
I will be attending several Zone Conferences this coming year. Please make plans to attend your Zone Conference. Many opportunities are offered at these conferences for learning, having fun, and making new friends! And, of course, the International Convention will be in Toronto in July 2001-include this in your travel plans for the coming year! We had a great time in Fort Worth, and are looking forward to next year!
AWARDS, AWARDS, AWARDS!
The Awards Breakfast is always a highlight of the Convention. Not only are the Chapter and FITAP (Family & Individual Talent Awards Program) winners recognized, but the recipients of the Single Parent of the Year (SPOTY), Youth of the Year (YOTY), Distinguished Service to Children, and Distinguished Service to PWP Children awards are presented.
This year, Kevin Laddison, 
of Chapter 1369, New London County, CT is the recipient of the Single Parent of the Year Award. His devotion to his daughter, Erin, and to Parents Without Partners made him the best choice. Kevin could not attend the Convention because he was preparing to move from Connecticut to California to be closer to his daughter. Kevin is not only dedicated to Erin, but to all children. He started the New London County Chapter #1369 and has been instrumental in the Children's Chess Tournament, SAMJAM (Science And Math Jamboree) sponsored by Pfizer Corporation and several other companies to teach children that science and math are interesting. Kevin has worked with the United Way Day of Caring in the children's area and with Earth Day Cleanup. He has even been on a Father/Son Boy Scout camping trip, being the father for a PWP son who had lost his dad. It is dedication like this that makes Kevin our SINGLE PARENT OF THE YEAR!
Tim Ditman is our Youth of the Year-a very special young man and a tribute to single parent families. It is refreshing to read about a young man like Tim when we hear so much about the trouble that teens are in. Thank you Tim for restoring our faith in young people. Tim is working this summer to earn money for his college education. He is from a PWP family and has been to many PWP International Conventions. His sister won the Youth of the Year in the past. Tim is a great example of an outstanding young man. He and his family stopped to help flood victims on their way home from the International Convention in Orlando, Florida a few years back. Tim excels in school and is a leader in his church. When people blame youth problems on single parent families, they need to meet Tim and his family! Tim, we are very proud of you and wish everyone could know about you and your accomplishments. You have a great future ahead of you, and will succeed in college and life. Please do not forget your PWP family; keep in touch. You are a great example of YOUTH OF THE YEAR!.
Bonnie Pirrin is the winner of the Distinguished Service to Parents Without Partners Children award this year. Bonnie has been active in her chapter working with Family and Youth. She started a group called TUFF, Teens United For Fun. TUFF sounds like a good idea; maybe we need a PUFF, Parents United For Fun! The Family and Youth activities in her chapter have grown in attendance since she has become active. Thanks to Bonnie for your hard work and concern for the Family and Youth Programs in Parents Without Partners. We need more members interested in the Family and Youth Program and the children of PWP.
The Distinguished Service to Children Award was presented to Dolly Parton this year. Ms. Parton is not only a very talented woman, but also a truly good person. Dolly and her Dollywood Foundation have given scholarships to children in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee. This has brought the dropout rate down from 43 percent to 17 percent-what a great thing to do! In addition to her Scholarship Program, Dolly also started the Imagination Library for pre-school children. Each child born in the county receives a free bookcase and a free book by mail each month until they reach school age.
Upon learning of the award, Ms. Parton wrote:
"Dear Friends and Neighbors: If we could go back to our childhood, I think most of us would wish on more stars and dream even bigger dreams. Since reading is such an important key to unlocking the imagination of children and bringing those dreams to life, I have created the Imagination Library especially for them. Our experiences in the "Buddy Program" showed us that the most important part of school is being confident, eager, and prepared to learn right from the start. Education, like the great adventure of life, begins at birth. I hope that every family will experience the joy and wonder of their child's imagination as they learn about the world and its many surprises. If the Imagination Library helps, it will be making one of my dreams come true. And remember&
I Will Always Love You,
Dolly Parton
We were told by Ms. Parton's Administrative Director David Dotson (who accepted the Award for her), that Dolly wants to give back what has been given to her. If you are interested in starting an Imagination Library, please contact Dollywood Foundation or Judy Lloyd, PWP Vice President of Family and Youth.
FAMILY & YOUTH
Judy Lloyd, Vice President of Family & Youth
I have not received any input from Zone or Regional Family & Youth on the ten top Family & Youth activities to list in The Single Parent. The Family & Youth Committee is working on updating the manuals and pursuing new ideas or revitalizing old ideas for activities for children. I am very excited about the Family & Youth Committee&it is larger this year than last year. If this Committee works as hard as last year's, we should get the manual finished. I feel Family & Youth is the backbone of Parents Without Partners. Any good ideas would be appreciated. With the presentation of the Distinguished Service to Children Award to Dolly Parton, we will be getting ideas and methods to implement a reading program for children. Along with giving scholarships, the Dollywood Foundation gives books to children from birth to age five. This encourages reading.
The International Convention 2000 was held amid the destruction of the tornado in Fort Worth, Texas - the plywood city! This destruction caused a few inconveniences for convention goers-no swimming pool, no second floor lobby, and scattered locations. The Children's Program was a success, and all had a great time. Our SPOTY for 2000 is Kevin Laddison, YOTY is Tim Ditman, Distinguished Service to Parents Without Partners Children winner is Bonnie Pirrin, and Distinguished Service to Children recipient is Dolly Parton.
Each monthly mailing I will try to give suggestions for Family & Youth activities. If you have ideas that work for your chapter, please let me know so it can be passed on to others.
Ideas for the Summer and Fall:
1. Home Made Ice Cream - no hand cranking or electric motor - use two coffee cans for each ice cream freezer. (Two clean coffee cans with lids - one large and one small). Your favorite ice cream recipe. Mix, divide, make as many flavors as coffee can combos. Put some ice in bottom of large coffee can, put ice cream mixture in small coffee can. Seal the lid. Put the small can into the large can, fill up with ice, top with ice cream salt, seal the lid on the large can. Make a game of rolling the cans back and forth. In no time you will have home made ice cream! Even the smallest and youngest members can help.
2. Camping Trips - Add a new twist to a camping trip. Go panning for gold or gems, take a nature walk and learn about the native plants around you - which are good and which are not.
3. Drive-in Movies - Go to a PG- or G-rated family drive-in movie. Make a day of it by going to yard sales or flea markets in the area first.
4. County or State Fairs - Plan a day at the fair for the family. To get the word out about Parents Without Partners, have a booth with photos of activities and brochures.
5. Autumn or Halloween Party - Have apple bobbing, cake walks, balloon popping, and other fun games.
These are ideas I have gotten from magazines and members of Parents Without Partners. Please send your ideas to me so I can pass them on to others.
You can put fun back into Parents Without Partners without much expense!
Subsidize the FAMILY ACTIVITIES and have a great time!
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
By Barbara Spade, Vice President of Community Relations
Thank you for electing me to the position of Vice President of Community Relations. Getting back on the International Board of Directors has shown me how much more we are doing to benefit the membership. With the utilization of our website, we are able to get much more information to our members. By using e-mail, we are able to respond to inquiries almost immediately and have more contact with the members than was ever possible before.
Know who your Senators are? Capitol Advantage publishes a handbook with the e-mail addresses for those Senators who have one. They may be reached at 1-800-659-8708 or go to their website at http://capitoladvantage.com. You can also go to http://www.senate.gov. For Congressmen, go to http://www.congress.org. . Are you a registered voter? For voter registration, check out http://www.beavoter.org.
Want to know how to get almost anything done? Look at http://www.ehow.com for step-by-step instructions on how to do just about anything and buy the stuff you need to do it. Want to find the absolute best place to buy something? Check out the PWP Online Mall on our PWP website. You can support Parents Without Partners by shopping online! Just visit any of the shopping sites there and PWP will receive a portion of your purchases back as donations.
Child Support For Grandma: This newsletter article describes how grandparents are parenting their own grandchildren in increasingly higher numbers and how to seek child support from the parents. Contact Stan Monshi at The Informed Families Resource Center, 305-856-4886.
Best Ideas For Involving Parents: The national PTA asked teachers from across the country to submit their best ideas for getting parents and families involved in their children's success-in school, but also at home and in the community. Connectforkids features some of the best of the best. http://www.connectforkids.org.
While supplies last, several new documents are available from the US Department of Education free of charge by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN.
For more information on these and other articles of interest to parents, go to www.parentingcoalition.org.
We have started the second phase of our public relations campaign. We are very excited because we will be combining advertising in print, on radio, and also on television. This will help to promote Parents Without Partners to those who have not yet heard about us.
The next issue of The Single Parent will be a reflection of more changes to come. Long-term plans call for turning The Single Parent newsletter into a full-fledged magazine once again! There are many other ideas we are working on developing to benefit YOU, the member.
"FOOTNOTES"
By Gene Tonnies, Vice President of Programs & Education
The 2000 Convention workshop evaluations (over 600) have been compiled and tabulated into some kind of meaningful feedback data. Thus far, several feedback messages are loud and clear:
There were too many workshops scheduled,
Too many choices to make (based on to little descriptive information),
Insufficient PWP training workshops presented, and
Too little "free time"
The International Programs & Education Committee members and I will be analyzing the convention program evaluations and other feedback as a basis to begin the planning process for the 2001 International Convention in Toronto, Canada, scheduled for July 2001. Obviously, the basis for planning convention workshop topics is recognition of members' training and educational needs. The convention workshop evaluations are but one source for this feedback. Other sources are directly from YOU - the members, particularly if you did not attend the convention in Fort Worth this year. However, you may be thinking about attending next year's convention in Toronto, in which case, the International Board would like to know specifically what workshop topics would entice YOU to attend the convention. What are the training and education needs YOU recognize in yourself and for other PWP members from your local chapter, region, and zone?
I would appreciate knowing your thoughts and receiving your input on this subject, which you may direct to me at my home address, or to an International Officer via e-mail.
Knowing is growing!!
Gene Tonnies, International VP of Programs & Education
3993 N. Campbell Avenue #3102
Tucson, AZ 85719-1438
520-881-0378
NEWS FROM THE ZONES
ZONE B, Frank Farinella, President
Zone B will hold its RCOTS training on 10-12 November at the Holiday Inn, Grantville, Pennsylvania. The Zone Conference will be held 18-20 May 2001 in the same location. As Zone President, I am pushing the Awards and FITAP programs this year. Hopefully I can get all chapters to participate.
ZONE D, Jo Johnson, President
On September 15-17 we had an all-Ohio Regional Conference. All the regions in Ohio met to discuss how to realign the current regions to more effectively serve the membership in Ohio. At the present time, Ohio is divided into five regions; this is not working effectively for at least three of them since they are without a full board of directors. This was discussed at this Regional and plans to elect a new board of directors utilizing leadership from each current area.
We have had many inquiries for new chapters in our Zone and hope to have several new chapters to charter soon. Members are hard at work trying to open chapters in Indiana and Michigan and working on rebuilding chapters in other areas.
At our Zone Board meeting in November we will be finalizing plans for Regional Council Officers Training (RCOTS) in March and the Zone Conference planned for May 18-20, 2001 in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Zone D is dedicated to retaining current members, increasing membership, and working together to keep this a dynamic Zone. I am proud of the leadership in this Zone and happy to be a part of the team!
ZONE F, Duane Blodgett, President
Upcoming events for Zone F include Hawkeye Regional Council #59 meeting in Sioux City, Iowa on October 7, Land of Lincoln #93 meeting in Springfield, Illinois on October 14, and Zone F Board Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri on October 28 and 29.
November 4 is the Midwest Regional Council #64 meeting in Antioch, Illinois and the Gateway Regional Council #58 in Belleville, Illinois. MARC #70 will meet in Omaha, Nebraska on November 11. RCOTS training for Gateway RC #58 will be held on December 2. Zone F will soon be chartering a new chapter in Springfield, Missouri.
ZONE K, Doris Powell, President
Zone K would like to thank all of you who participated in the International Convention in July! We hope you all enjoyed your visit to Fort Worth. The weather cooperated with us---the temperature stayed under 100 the entire week. Soon after, however, thermometers soared to over 100 degrees and stayed with us until mid-September.
The Zone has received a number of inquiries from prospective members, not only looking for chapter membership, but asking about starting new chapters. The information has been sent, contacts made, and hopefully with a lot of nurturing, Zone K will have several new chapters by this time next year!
Upcoming events: Zone K All-Region Conference will be on October 13-15 in San Antonio, Texas at the Airport Comfort Inn, and the Annual Zone K Conference will be April 27 - 29, in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, hotel to be determined.
